The Hero Nobody Thought He Could Be
by sevenpurplebubbles
Summary: What if Voldemort decided that Neville was the child the prophecy referred to? Would he have killed Neville's parents like he did Harry's and then been destroyed by a rebounding curse? Would he have then returned years later only to be defeated by Neville? Or would this seemingly simple decision change the course of wizarding history? And will it be for better or for worse?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to all you readers out there. Thanks for choosing ****_The Hero Nobody Thought He Could Be_**** for your reading experience. I will let you know right now that the rating is for violence mostly. I'm sure you guys don't really want to be reading my author's note forever, so I will end it now, and all I can say is, enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: Only the Beginning

"My Lord, Severus Snape requests an audience with you," said Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Very well, bring him in," Voldemort replied from the chair he was sitting in. Bellatrix turned and closed the door, leaving him alone in the room. While he waited, Voldemort stood up and crossed the room to the window and looked out. If only he could somehow get his hands on the sword of Gryffindor, then he could turn it into a Horcrux and he would have one item belonging to each of the founders.

He heard a clicking sound and turned to see the door open. Bellatrix and Severus entered and bowed before him.

"Thank you Bellatrix, you may go," he said. She turned and left, leaving Severus crouched down on the floor. "Rise," Voldemort instructed, and the servant rose obediently. "Tell me Severus, what have you come here for?"

"My Lord," the servant said, "only ten minutes ago, I overheard a prophecy being made."

"And why does this concern me?" Voldemort asked, irritated that he had been interrupted for something so pointless.

"The prophecy spoke of your demise," Severus replied.

A wave of emotions rose up in Voldemort; anger, hurt, confusion, but mostly, fear. "Crucio!" Voldemort cried, pointing his wand at Severus. With a scream, the servant fell to floor, writhing in pain. When Voldemort was finished, he lifted the spell and Severus slowly rose.

"And what did this prophecy say?" Voldemort asked slowly.

"It said, '_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…'_" Severus replied.

"I cannot be defeated!" Voldemort cried in rage. "You lie! Legilimens!" he said, pointing his wand at the servant.

He was in a dirty hallway in the Hog's Head. He was crouched outside a door.

"Thank you Sybill, I will consider your application and get back to you about the job by the end of the week," a voice was saying. He recognized the voice; it was Dumbledore's voice. There was a gasp, then a moment of silence. "Sybill are you – " Dumbledore began, but he was cut off.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…" Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his shoulder and roughly throw him into the wall behind him.

"What are you doing here, Death Eater?" Aberforth Dumbledore asked. "I won't have the likes of you eavesdropping on my customers. Get out!"

In a flash, Voldemort returned to reality. It couldn't be true. He was undefeatable. A baby couldn't possibly defeat him. "Crucio!" he cried, once again pointing his wand at Severus. He could feel his anger and his fear coursing through his veins and into the wand, all being poured into Severus through the curse.

When he finally ended the pain, Severus stood again. "My Lord…?" he said, questioningly.

"You are dismissed," Voldemort replied as calmly as he could. When he heard the door shut behind him, he returned to his place at the window, millions of thoughts passing through his mind. He couldn't be defeated. His horcruxes ensured that. But prophecies weren't something to be meddled with. What power could a baby boy have that was stronger than his magic? Surely the boy would have to grow into his power. The answer, then, was simple. The boy must be killed before he became a threat.

The clicking sound of the door opening sounded in the room. Voldemort turned to see Bellatrix standing in the doorway.

"My Lord, Severus Snape has just left. Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.

"Yes. I need you to learn the identity of all the boys that are born at the end of July to parents that have defied me three times," Voldemort instructed.

"My Lord?" Bellatrix asked, confused at this strange request.

"You dare question me? Crucio!" Voldemort cried, filled with anger.

When he lifted the curse, Bellatrix rose. "I will do as you ask, My Lord," Bellatrix said, and she backed out of the room, shutting the door carefully.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Sybill?" Dumbledore asked warily when the woman appeared to have regained herself.

"Forgive me, I must have dozed off. I didn't sleep well last night on that mattress," Sybill said, pointing at the bed on the other side of the room.

She didn't remember any of what had just happened. Dumbledore knew she was a fraud for the most part. Their interview had revealed that much, but what had just happened, that was most certainly real. Dumbledore suspected that she had just made her first real prophecy.

"Well, thank you for your time, Sybill, I will contact you tomorrow, most likely, about the teaching position," Dumbledore said, heading to the door to leave. When he had left, he apparated straight back to his office in Hogwarts, taking the wards he had put in place around the school down for only the tiniest of microseconds to allow him through.

When he had returned, he began to pace. There were two families he knew of that were expecting a son near the end of July who had defied Voldemort three times; the Longbottoms and the Potters. The prophecy could speak of either child. Until it became clear which child the prophecy referred to, he would have to hide both families. It became crucial that this child survive long enough to defeat Voldemort. He immediately sent his Patronus to the two families, insisting that they come to his office immediately. And Sybill, she would have to come to work at Hogwarts. Who knew whether she would make another prophecy or not? Best to have her close by, both for her own safety and for the safety of others.

While he waited for the Longbottoms and the Potters, he sat down at his desk and wrote a letter to Sybill, telling her that she had gotten the job as Divination Professor and that she would be expected to move into the castle within the next couple of days. He sent the letter out with Fawkes, and then he heard a knock on his door.

"Enter," he said, and Minerva McGonagall walked in.

"Professor Dumbledore, the Longbottoms and the Potters have arrived and claim to have an appointment?" she asked.

"Yes, let them in," Dumbledore replied and she backed out of the doorway to allow the four in. "Thank you Minerva," he said, and she turned to leave, shutting the door behind her.

"I'm sure you must be wondering why I have summoned you here at this hour," Dumbledore said to the four as he conjured extra chairs for them all to sit in. "I have just witnessed a prophecy being made. It refers to an unborn child who will have the power to defeat Voldemort. This child is said to be born at the end of July to parents who have defied Voldemort three times."

As if on cue, Alice and Lily both lowered their hands to their bellies, as if to protect their unborn children.

"As I'm sure you have deduced, your children are the only ones that fit that description, thus one of you carries the child that will have the power to defeat Voldemort," Dumbledore said. Alice and Frank simply looked at each other, while James stood and moved closer to Lily.

"What aren't you telling us?" James asked suspiciously, placing his hand on Lily's shoulder.

"There was a Death Eater in the hallway, who also heard the prophecy, or at least the beginning, which describes the child. Voldemort has surely been informed by now and I suspect he will come after both children soon, to kill them before they grow too powerful," Dumbledore replied.

At this, Frank also rose and moved to stand in front of Alice as if to shield her and the child from attack. "Then we must kill him before he gets to them," Frank said with determination.

"He is too powerful, we cannot hope to kill him quickly enough for that," Dumbledore said.

"Then what are you suggesting?" James asked.

"You need to go into hiding. With the use of the Fidelius Charm, Voldemort will be unable to find you, thus he will be unable to kill you. In fact, I even suggest that you both use me as your secret keeper, that way you can be sure you won't be discovered.

Frank and Alice shared a look. "Alright, we'll do it," Frank said.

"We'll do it too," James added. "But maybe we should use somebody else for our secret keeper, if you're going to use Dumbledore," he said, the last part more to Frank than to Dumbledore.

"I insist you allow me to be your secret keeper. You will have nothing to fear from Voldemort if I hold the secret to your location," Dumbledore said.

"I agree with James," Lily said. "We could ask Sirius. He would never betray us to Voldemort."

"Yes," James agreed. "Sirius will be our secret keeper."

"Are you sure, James?" Dumbledore asked.

"I would trust Sirius with anything," James said.

"Very well, then I suggest you two go find Sirius and have him perform the spell," Dumbledore said to the Potters. James and Lily both nodded, and then they got up and left the room, ready to go into hiding, leaving Frank and Alice alone with Dumbledore.

"Just as James and Lily are going into hiding now, I suggest we perform the spell on your home immediately, Voldemort may be on the move even as we speak," Dumbledore said.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"My Lord?" Bellatrix said as she entered the room. Voldemort turned, ready for some news.

"You have the information I requested?" he asked, his hand already gripping his wand, ready to deliver pain for poor results.

"Yes, My Lord. Both the Longbottoms and the Potters are expecting children near the end of July, and as I'm sure you remember, they have both defied you thrice," Bellatrix said.

So, the Longbottoms and the Potters. How interesting. But which boy was the one the prophecy spoke of? Surely it didn't speak of both of them. The Longbottom would be a pureblood, his parents both being purebloods, while the Potter would be a half-blood, since his mother was Muggle-born. Such filth. Why Potter, a pureblood, would willingly choose to contaminate his family's blood by marrying Mudblood scum was unfathomable for Voldemort. Surely the brat of a Mudblood couldn't have the power to defeat Voldemort, the most powerful wizard on earth. It must be the pureblood that the prophecy spoke of; the Longbottom.

"Very well, Bellatrix, you may go," Voldemort said. Now he need only pay the Longbottoms a visit and order would be restored.

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**Alright, so that was the first chapter. If you have any thoughts, about what you just read or even ideas about where the story should go, leave a review! Reviews are like sunshine, the light up my entire day, so don't be shy :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey there readers, so I'm updating after only a day, but that's not going to happen all the time, so don't get too used to it. Also, I know right now I'm skipping around a lot between Voldemort and the Longbottoms and the Potters and even Dumbledore in the last chapter, but don't worry, once I'm done with this beginning-y stuff Neville will become the focus of the story. Right now he's a baby though, so there's not much going on in his head... Anyway, to the chapter!**

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Chapter 2: Searching

Without a sound, Voldemort apparated to the wizarding village of Upper Flagley. Rookwood had used his connections at the ministry to find out where the Longbottoms lived, and now it was only a matter of time before Voldemort took care of the child. It had taken some time to get the address, but there would be no more waiting after tonight. Though both of the parents were aurors, Voldemort knew that they didn't stand a chance against him.

It was very late, already past midnight, and the streets were empty. It was better this way. He wouldn't be slowed down. He walked down Elm street to where Rookwood had told him the house would be. Number 7, he had said.

3… 4… 5… 6… 8… Wait. Voldemort turned around and backtracked. There was number 6, and next to it, stood number eight, only a small bit of lawn and a gate separating them. He looked on the other side of the street, but those were 11, 12 and 13.

He looked back at numbers 6 and 8. He was filled with a sudden burst of rage, Rookwood would pay for this mistake, and dearly.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Frank, I'm going to put Neville to bed now," Alice Longbottom said from inside number 7 Elm Street. She picked up the three month old baby and carried him to his nursery.

While she rocked him in her arms and sang him a lullaby, Frank remained in the living room, rechecking the wards Dumbledore had placed around their house. In addition to the Fidelius Charm, he had added a couple more layers of protection, just to be safe.

He stood and moved closer to the window and then froze in fear. "Alice," he called up the stairs. "Stay with Neville," he said.

Alice knew immediately that something was wrong, and the auror in her told her to go find out what was going on right away. But the mother in her stopped her. She knew she had to stay here and keep Neville safe. The baby in the crib started to cry, so she picked him up in her arms and carried him over to the window.

On the street below, Voldemort was walking up the street. Alice and Frank both watched as he came closer and closer to their house and as he did so, their fear became greater and greater. When Voldemort finally got to their house, however, he did not pause, but instead he kept walking. Alice sighed in relief, closing her eyes. The Fidelius Charm had worked, then.

While Alice relaxed and started rocking Neville again, Frank watched as Voldemort stopped at the next house, and turned back around. He was now standing directly in front of number 7 and he gazed back and forth between numbers 6 and 8. He turned on the spot, searching, and then let out a cry of rage and disapparated.

Frank remained at the window a few minutes longer, and when he was sure Voldemort would not be returning, he rushed upstairs to his wife and son.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"My Lord," Wormtail said when Voldemort returned. "I have good news, the Potters have made me their secret keeper – I can give you their location."

"The Potters?" Voldemort screamed in anger. "What use is that? I need to find the Longbottoms! Crucio!"

As the pathetic man writhed on the floor, Voldemort only became angrier and angrier. He ended the curse and allowed Wormtail to stand again.

"There is, however, a way for you to prove yourself useful," Voldemort said.

"Anything, My Lord," the servant replied.

"Kill Augustus Rookwood," Voldemort ordered.

"The spy, My Lord?" Wormtail asked, confused as to why his master would want him to kill one of his own followers.

"Are you questioning me?" Voldemort asked, already raising his wand.

"No, My Lord, of course not. It shall be done," Wormtail said, backing out of the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sirius Black apparated to Godric's Hollow as soon as he had received the morning post. He walked straight to the Potter's cottage and knocked loudly on the door.

"James, can you get the door?" Lily asked from the next room. She was just finishing up Harry's morning feeding and James had yet to get out of bed.

James gave a muffled groan, and slowly rolled out of bed, his hand flailing about on the nightstand, searching for his glasses. When he finally had them on, he grabbed his bathrobe and put it on as he exited his room and descended to the main level.

When he had finally opened the door, Sirius burst in, nearly knocking James to the floor as he stormed into the kitchen. James shut the door behind him and followed his best friend, wondering what could be the matter.

"Padfoot, what's going on?" James asked. Sirius slammed _The Daily Prophet_ down on the kitchen table and pointed at the article on the front page.

**_MINISTRY WORKER AUGUSTUS ROOKWOOD MURDERED BY TRAITOR PETER PETTIGREW_**

_As Augustus Rookwood, longtime employee of the Ministry of Magic, was on his way home last night, he was assaulted in Diagon Alley by Peter Pettigrew. Eyewitness accounts tell us that Pettigrew cornered Rookwood in the alley leading to Knockturn Alley. After disarming Rookwood, Pettigrew uttered the Killing Curse, one of the three Unforgivable Curses, and left Rookwood dead in the alley. Pettigrew has not yet been captured, but ministry officials are currently on the case. _

_Proof that Pettigrew is in fact a supporter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names has also been discovered. Eyewitness Miranda Malkin says "I saw the whole thing from the window of my flat above my shop. When Pettigrew raised his wand for the kill, the arm of his robe slipped down, and I saw it; the Dark Mark." _

_To read more about Augustus Rookwood, see page 2. To read more about the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark, see page 4. To read more about the charges facing Pettigrew when he is caught, see page 5._

"Peter… A Death Eater?" James asked, stunned, as he lowered the paper back to the table and raised his eyes to meet those of his friend.

"I always knew he was no good," Sirius said sharply. "I should never have convinced you to make him the secret keeper instead of me."

At that moment, Lily came through the doorway, holding Harry in her arms. "Oh, good morning Sirius, why so early?" she asked.

James handed her the _Prophet _and took Harry into his arms so that she could read. As she read, James saw her face get paler and paler. He moved to put his free arm around her shoulders in a comforting manner.

"But then why hasn't You-Know-Who come for Harry?" Lily asked when she had finished. "Surely Peter's told him where we are by now."

"He must think the prophecy referred to Neville," Sirius replied. "Apparently he was spotted in Upper Flagley."

Another knock sounded at the door. "I'll get that," James said. This time, it was Remus at the door. He too was carrying the _Prophet_. "Padfoot's in the kitchen," James said to his friend. Remus nodded in understanding.

"You need to replace the Fidelius Charm," Remus said as they went back into the kitchen. "Whether or not You-Know-Who's come yet, eventually he will, if just to get Harry out of the way in case."

"I think Dumbledore should be your secret keeper this time," Sirius said.

James nodded grimly. He never wanted to mistrust his friends, but Peter had betrayed them all and now he didn't know who to trust.

"I don't think either of you should leave the cottage," Remus said to James and Lily. "I'll go and talk to Dumbledore for you if you'd like."

"Thanks Moony," James said. Remus nodded and turned to leave the cottage.

James turned and looked at Lily. Sirius could see that they needed a moment alone to talk.

"How's my godson?" Sirius asked, reaching for Harry. James handed him over and Sirius began bouncing Harry up and down in the air, causing Harry to smile and giggle. "Come on Harry, I'm going to teach you how to use a wand," Sirius said, crossing to the door.

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed while James tried to hide a smile.

"I'm just kidding Lily, I'll read him a story, how's that?" Sirius replied.

"That's just fine," Lily replied.

Rolling his eyes at how serious Lily could be at times, Sirius carried Harry up to his room and began to read him _The Fountain of Fair Fortune._

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**So how was that? What'd you guys think? The best way to let me know is with a review, I'm not telepathic, though it would be cool if I was. If you have ideas for the future, I'd be glad to hear them too and maybe you'll even see your idea appear in the story :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I'm sorry it's taken a while to get this chapter ready, but it's ready now :) I still feel like I'm jumping around a lot, and I think I will be for a little while at least, but it should get less weird soon... Anyway, it's also been like, six months or so since the last chapter (in fiction land, not reality). The first chapter took place in the end of June, and the second chapter was around the end of October and now it's almost May. So Harry and Neville are nine months old and Ron (who will be appearing in this story soon!) is fourteen months old. Now I don't know a lot about babies, but if anyone knows at what age they should be talking, walking, etc., then please let me know. **

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Chapter 3: Waiting

"Did you hear about the McKinnons?" Lily asked Alice as the two women sat in the living room and watched their boys play together on the floor.

"Yes, Emmeline came by yesterday and told us," there was a pause as the room filled with sadness. "I wish I could be out there and do something, you know?" Alice asked. Being cooped up in her house under the Fidelius Charm for almost ten months was making Alice quite restless. The auror in her wanted to fight, but she knew she had to protect Neville.

"Marlene was such a good person. I wish I could have stopped it somehow, but I know I couldn't have, even if I had been there," Lily replied.

Suddenly, Neville began to wail and the two mothers turned to their sons. Harry had taken Neville's toy and was playing with it and Neville was trying to get it back.

Lily pried the toy from Harry's fingers and handed it back to Neville. Then she reached into the bag she had brought with her and produced another toy for Harry.

"It seems so strange, doesn't it?" Alice asked, looking at the boys playing together. "That one of them is supposed to save the world. I mean, they're so young still."

"I wonder who it is," Lily said, staring first at her own son and then at his friend.

"Dumbledore says that You-Know-Who thinks the prophecy was referring to Neville, but that we can't assume anything yet. He could be wrong," Alice replied. The women lapsed into silence while they stared wonderingly at their children.

"Frank's getting really restless. He can't stand sitting around all day," Alice said.

"Yes, James is the same way," Lily replied.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Thanks for coming to visit today," Frank said to James. "I haven't really had anyone to talk to since…" he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"The Prewetts were good people," James said. "And they died for a good cause."

"Fabian was my best friend," Frank said. "Did you know he was planning on asking Marlene out? And now she's gone too…"

James remained silent while the other man was lost in his thoughts.

"Did you know Fabian and Gideon had a younger sister?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, Molly I think," James replied.

"I heard she had a son not long ago," Frank said. "He'd be in Neville and Harry's year at Hogwarts if they get old enough."

"Not IF, Frank, WHEN," James insisted.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Voldemort was sitting in his favorite chair, alone in the room. It had been ten months already, and still the young Longbottom lived. He was secretly becoming more and more nervous as the days passed. If he let the boy grow up, he would be much more of a threat than he was now, a mere baby. Voldemort rebuked himself. There was no possible way he could be defeated. Not with his horcruxes in place. Even if the boy could kill him, he would be able to come back.

He still had one more horcrux to make. He wanted to have his soul in seven parts, as seven was the most powerful magical number. With seven horcruxes, he would be invincible. He had been unable to find a relic of Gryffindor's and he had decided to stop looking. He needed to make the horcrux soon. He had decided it would only be fitting to use the death of the Longbottom boy to create his final horcrux, and he didn't have the time to postpone that murder.

However, he still needed to find the Longbottoms. After Wormtail had killed Rookwood, he had lost Rookwood as a spy, and due to the unfortunate _Prophet_ article, Wormtail was no longer a useful spy either.

"Bellatrix!" Voldemort called. He knew she was standing just outside the door, waiting to be called.

The door opened. "You called, My Lord?" Bellatrix said as she entered and bowed.

"I need you to bring me Severus Snape," Voldemort said. "I require an audience with him."

"Very well, My Lord," Bellatrix replied, "Will there be anything else?"

"No," Voldemort said.

Bellatrix bowed once more and left the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Harry was crying. No, Harry was wailing. Lily had tried everything she could think of to calm him down, but he was still wailing.

"Alice, I think it might be time to take Harry back home," Lily said. Alice agreed and picked up Neville, who was still playing on the floor. The two women walked down the hall and into the kitchen. "James, I think we need to take Harry home," Lily said.

"Is he alright?" James asked worriedly, running over to his wife and son.

"He probably just needs familiar surroundings and a nap in his crib," Lily replied.

"Come on, I'll get the Floo Powder then," said Frank, leaving the room. Lily, Alice and James slowly made their way back to the living room and to the fireplace.

"Thanks for having us over," Lily said as she took a handful of Floo Powder. "Why don't you come by our place tomorrow?"

"That would be great!" Alice replied enthusiastically. "Maybe around two? Frank's mother, Augusta, is stopping by around lunchtime."

"See you then," Lily said. She stepped into the fireplace and made sure to tuck Harry's head into her shoulder to prevent him from getting ash or soot in his eyes. She threw the powder into the fireplace and zoomed off to her home in Godric's Hollow.

"Bye James," Frank and Alice said as James stepped into their fireplace. He dropped the powder and zoomed off home.

Alice continued to stare at the fireplace. She turned to Frank. "Are you sure it's safe to have the Floo passage?" she asked.

Dumbledore had set up a special passage between the Potter's and the Longbottom's fireplaces; they could travel back and forth between each other's houses, but nobody else could get into their houses and they couldn't get into anyone else's house. Dumbledore had even set up a complicated ward around each of their houses so that if Voldemort or the Death Eaters were somehow able to penetrate the Fidelius Charm and all the other protections, the Floo passage would shut down and they wouldn't be able to use it.

"Dumbledore knows what he's doing, don't worry," Frank replied. Neville started to cry. Alice breathed in and grimaced.

"I'm going to go and change Neville," Alice said. "You can start getting dinner ready."

0o0o0o0o0o0

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter," Voldemort said. The door opened and Severus Snape walked in and bowed.

"You wished to see me, My Lord?" Severus asked when he rose.

"I require a service from you, Severus," Voldemort said.

"Of course, anything, My Lord," Severus said.

"You are an accomplished Occlumens, are you not?" Voldemort said.

"You are much too powerful a Legilimens for my Occlumency to be effective against you," Severus replied nervously, misinterpreting his Lord's question.

"Obviously," Voldemort said, "Nobody can resist my Legilimency. That was, however, not the question I asked. I asked if you were an accomplished Occlumens."

"Y-yes, M-my Lord," Severus replied, afraid to anger Voldemort.

"Severus, I want you to spy on Albus Dumbledore," Voldemort said.

"M-my Lord?" Severus said.

"I am certain he is hiding the Longbottoms and I need to find them," Voldemort said.

"And how am I to spy on him, My Lord? Albus Dumbledore is a very powerful wizard, though not as powerful as you, of course," Severus said, adding the last bit on in a rush.

"You must convince him that you have turned away from me. You must use your Occlumency to prevent him from knowing the truth. He will truly believe you are on his side, and then, you will tell him you are spying on me for him, when in reality, you are spying on him for me," Voldemort replied.

"And how am I to convince him my loyalties lie with him?" Snape asked.

"That is completely up to you, Severus," Voldemort replied.

"And if I fail?" Severus asked nervously.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Crucio!" he cried, pointing his wand at his servant. Severus writhed on the floor for a few minutes before Voldemort ended the curse.

Severus stood and bowed. "Understood my Lord, I shall not fail," he said as he backed out of the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Harry's finally asleep," James said as he entered his bedroom and began to get ready for bed.

"James?" Lily said from the doorway to the bathroom.

"Yeah?" James asked a little distractedly as he rummaged in his dresser for a pair of boxers.

"I have something I need to tell you," Lily said, still standing in the same spot. Something in the tone of Lily's voice made James stop what he was doing and turn to look at his wife, concerned.

"What is it?" James asked.

"I-I'm pregnant."

* * *

**Yay! Harry's going to have a little brother or sister! How exciting is that, right? I think I've already decided which gender I want the baby to be, but you guys should let me know if you want it to be a girl or a boy, because I might change my mind if you all want the opposite. Also, if you think you have a great baby name for baby Potter, leave it in a review and I might decide to use it :). And lastly, if you have questions or if I've been unclear in my chapter(s), let me know, because I've got this whole thing worked out in my head and sometimes it doesn't get transferred out of my head in a way that other people can understand. Anyway, enough with that, if I write anymore you won't have time to review, and we certainly don't want that.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, I know I updated, like, a few hours ago, but once I got going on chapter 3, chapter 4 just kind of materialized. ANYWAY, I didn't think it would be right to make you all wait for a chapter that's already been written, that would be mean, so here it is! Also, for the twenty five people who read chapter three before I caught the mistake, Ron was fourteen months old in the last chapter, not two months old, I forgot to add a year. I realized my boo boo on the way to work and then I couldn't change it until I got home. It bothered me the whole time. Anyway, it's been fixed now, so smiles all around. This chapter takes place two weeks after the last chapter, so about mid-may.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Baby Steps

"Professor Dumbledore, there is a man here who would like to see you," said Minerva McGonagall.

"Who is it?" Dumbledore asked, not looking up from the papers he was reading on his desk.

"Severus Snape," she replied. Dumbledore looked up then.

"Where is he?" Dumbledore asked.

"He is waiting by the school gates, I would not allow the Death Eater into the grounds, especially with all the students still here," she replied.

"Thank you Minerva, I will go and talk to him," Dumbledore said.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Minerva asked.

"No, I am sure I will be fine. After all, he is only one Death Eater," Dumbledore replied.

"Very well," Minerva said as she left the room to return to the papers she was grading for her O.W.L. students.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"What time did they say they would be coming over?" Alice asked Frank as she frantically tried to finish changing Neville.

"Noon," Frank replied from the other room, where he was reading _The Daily Prophet_.

"But it's already ten past," Alice said.

"They're not that late, give them some more time," Frank replied.

"Frank, are you going to help me with Neville at all, or are you going to sit in there all day with your coffee and your paper?" Alice asked exasperatedly as she accidentally put Neville's diaper on upside down.

"It only takes one person to change a diaper," Frank replied.

"Yes, but I still haven't finished preparing the sandwiches and I haven't even started to straighten up the living room," Alice said.

With a sigh, Frank rose and began to clean up the living room a bit.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"James, when did Arthur say they would be here?" Lily asked James as she packed some of Harry's toys in the baby bag.

"Just before noon, dear," James replied from the bedroom, where he was putting on socks.

"But it's already ten past!" Lily exclaimed. "You don't think something happened, do you?"

"Calm down, Lily, I'm sure everything's fine. Give them more than ten minutes before you start to worry," James said.

"I hope they don't have any trouble finding the house," Lily said.

"Why would they?" James asked. "Dumbledore told them our address himself."

Just then, Harry began to cry. "James can you finish packing up Harry's things? I think he needs to be changed," Lily asked.

"Alright," James said, and with a sigh, he walked over to Harry's room and helped pack.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Arthur, have you seen my wand?" Molly cried from two floors up.

"No, where did you – AH!" Arthur cried from the main floor. Apparently Fred and George had managed to steal Molly's wand and had used it to make all the pots and pans fly around the kitchen.

Arthur pulled out his own wand. "Finite Incantatem!" he cried, then, "Immobulus!" he didn't want all the pots and pans to fall from the air, because Fred and George might be hit.

"Fred!" Arthur barked at his son. "Give me mummy's wand back."

"Don't have," one of the twins said, holding his hands open wide in front of him.

Arthur sighed. "George then," he said and George walked over and handed the wand to his father.

"Now what did I tell you about stealing mummy's wand?" Arthur asked.

"Don't," George replied.

"Then why did you steal it?" Arthur asked.

"Fun!" Fred cried, grabbing his brother's hand and running up the stairs to their room.

Arthur sighed and went up to find Molly. She was trying to pack all of Ron's things into a bag while holding a crying Ron and she also had a five year old Percy attached to her right leg, begging her not to leave him.

When Arthur walked in, he took Ron and began bouncing him up and down in the hopes that it would stop his crying. He handed Molly back her wand, and she used it to finish packing the baby bag with one swoop. Then she was able to turn her attention to Percy and detach him from her leg.

Once his parents had promised Percy they would be back in a couple of hours, Ron had finished crying, Charlie and Bill had been checked on and Fred and George had been punished, they left their children in the care of Molly's aunt, Muriel.

"Arthur, what time is it?" Molly asked as they climbed into Arthur's Ford Anglia.

"Quarter to twelve," Arthur replied.

"Oh, we'll never make it. It'll take us half an hour to get to Godric's Hollow," Molly said. "I wish we could just apparate."

"We can't apparate and you know it. It would be bad for Ron and it would be bad for the baby," Arthur said, patting Molly's growing belly. She was already six months pregnant with her seventh child. "We'll still make it, we'll just be a little late."

"Oh, this is a horrible way to make a first impression," Molly said with a sigh as Arthur started up the car.

"We could always try out the – erm – more unique features of the car," Arthur said tentatively.

"Arthur Weasley, if you so much as brush the flying gear with your pinkie finger, I will curse you so bad, you'll wish you'd never been born!" Molly cried.

"Sorry," Arthur said quickly. "Just a suggestion…"

0o0o0o0o0o0

"What message does Voldemort have for me, Death Eater?" Dumbledore spat at Snape when he went out to meet him. Disgust and anger welled up inside Dumbledore when he saw the Death Eater standing there.

Snape shuddered at the use of the Dark Lord's name. "I am not here to deliver a message," Snape said slowly, trying to find a way to make this work. Already, Dumbledore seemed to hate him.

"Then what business do you have here? For what reason did Voldemort send you here?" Dumbledore asked, his voice hard and cold.

"The Dark Lord did not send me here, I am here of my own accord. He does not know I have come," Snape said as he tried to gauge Dumbledore's reaction. He suddenly felt something that was seemingly knocking on his skull. Dumbledore was trying to use Legilimency, but thankfully for Snape, he was able to keep him out.

"You are quite a good Occlumens," Dumbledore said suspiciously.

"I find it best to never let my guard down," Snape replied, not wanting Dumbledore to think that he was hiding anything, though that was exactly what he was doing.

"Why have you come here today?" Dumbledore asked, moving back to the subject at hand.

"I wish to change sides. I have seen what the Dark Lord has done, mostly to the innocent, and I cannot stand by his values any longer," Snape replied.

Dumbledore was not convinced. "So you have simply 'seen the light' and all of a sudden you are willing to risk everything, including death?"

"I cannot face myself in the mirror every morning knowing that I am serving a murderer," Snape said.

"And what caused this change of heart?" Dumbledore asked. "Surely you didn't wake up one morning and realize all of this."

Snape sighed. He was going to have to do better than this if he was going to convince Dumbledore that his loyalties laid with him. "The prophecy," Snape said.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. Snape had been the one to overhear that prophecy and he was the reason that families now had to live in fear that they're sons would be murdered in the night.

"It spoke of a boy, though it could have been one of two," Snape continued, "either the Longbottom or the Potter," Snape said the last name with loathing. "Though the Dark Lord believes it spoke of Longbottom, I fear he might go after Potter." Snape knew that Voldemort wouldn't go after Potter, and that they were safe, but he needed something to convince Dumbledore with.

"Why do you care if he goes after Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "As I understand it, you hate the Potters."

"I am afraid the Dark Lord would kill Lily," Snape said.

"What's one more death?" Dumbledore asked sharply. "Surely you've witnessed hundreds of murders."

Snape closed his eyes and allowed himself to be transported back to when he was eleven years old. Lily had just received her Hogwarts acceptance letter and he was explaining to her about the wizarding world. She was so enraptured by what he was saying, so focused on only him and what he was saying. "Expecto Patronum!" Snape cried, and a magnificent silver doe shot out of his wand and trotted over to Dumbledore.

"You love her?" Dumbledore asked, looking Snape directly in the eyes for the first time that afternoon.

"Yes," Snape said, not even needing to lie this time. He saw Dumbledore's eyes shining with tears and he knew he had won. The old man couldn't help but accept him now. He thought love was the magic solution to every problem, but he was wrong. Snape's love for Lily couldn't make Lily love Snape, and Dumbledore's love for every human on earth couldn't stop the Dark Lord from killing them all.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Lily shot out of the fireplace, covered in ash and soot, and holding a crying Harry in her arms. Harry didn't like travelling by Floo Powder, but for now it was the only way that was safe. James took Harry from Lily's arms as she pulled out her wand and quickly removed all the dirt from her body, and from the floor as well.

She looked over at Molly and felt a little jealous. Ron seemed to be fine travelling by Floo, he was smiling happily in his mother's arms.

"Thank goodness, you're all here, I thought something was wrong," Alice said as she bustled into the room behind Frank.

"Sorry, we had a little trouble at the house this morning," Molly said.

"Oh, please, come sit down," Alice said, realizing she had two pregnant women standing in front of the fireplace. "I'll go and get the sandwiches."

While Alice was preparing the food in the kitchen, Lily and Molly settled their sons on the floor with some toys to play with. Frank put Neville down with the two other boys and motioned for Arthur and James to follow him to the next room, where they could talk and give the women some time to themselves.

"How old's Ron now?" Lily asked Molly as they waited for Alice to return.

"Almost fifteen months," Molly replied.

"And Ron's your fifth?" Lily asked.

"Sixth," Molly clarified.

"Wow, and your having another," Lily said, looking at Molly's belly. "When's it due?"

"Mid-August," Molly said. "When are you due?"

"I-I-" Lily stuttered. "How do you know?" she asked. She hadn't told anyone but James and Alice yet, though she assumed Frank knew by now.

"When you've have six children, you know how to spot a pregnancy," Molly said. "I'd guess you're about a month pregnant by now, which means you're due around Mid-January," Molly surmised.

Lily just stared. How did Molly know all of this?

"I've got sandwiches," Alice said as she came back into the room.

"Ham?" Molly asked.

"These ones here," Alice said, pointing to a pile on one side of the plate.

"Oh good," Molly said, grabbing one. "I'm starving."

"Sa-mich!" Ron cried from where he was sitting on the floor. He stood up and toddled over to the plate on the coffee table.

"Ron!" Molly exclaimed. "Those are not for you. Besides, I just fed you an hour ago, you can't be hungry yet."

"Hun-gy," Ron replied, rubbing his belly.

Molly sighed and reached into her bag and pulled out a plastic bag with cheerios in it. "Here, you can have a snack," she said, handing him the cheerios.

Harry had been watching Molly and Ron for a while now, and he had studied Ron as he walked over to the table. Curious, Harry wanted to try for himself. He saw that Ron had been standing on two legs, so he used his fists to push himself off of the ground. Once he was upright, he lifted his left foot and moved forward. He made it about three steps before he fell back down, but he felt quite proud of himself for his feat.

"Harry!" Lily exclaimed when she saw her son take his first steps. "You're walking!" When Harry fell, she picked him up and gave him a big hug.

Meanwhile, Neville also wanted to try this new thing. Harry and Ron had done it, so it couldn't be that hard. And if he managed, maybe his mother would hug him too. He balled his hands into fists like he had seen Harry do and tried to push himself off of the ground, but for some reason, it didn't work. He tried it again with his fists flat against the floor, but that didn't work either.

Harry and Ron were still both receiving attention from their mothers and Neville felt left out, so he decided to cry.

* * *

**That was my longest chapter so far for this story, your welcome. As you can see, I haven't yet revealed the gender of the baby, so you still have a chance to voice your opinion. Special thanks to KitKatlover7 for making the first (and only so far) suggestion. Also, I need baby name suggestions, because every name I come up with sounds horrid when I put 'Potter' after it. And now it is review time... go on, you know you want to :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, so I wrote chapter five! It is now the end of July and the plot is thickening (or so I think... maybe it only seems that way because I know what's coming next...) Anyways, this chapter revolves a lot around Snape as opposed to Neville and Harry and their families, but the conversations he has with Dumbledore and Voldemort are actually extremely important (I think). And I think that was all I wanted to say for now...**

* * *

Chapter 5: Spy

"You sent for me?" Severus Snape asked as he entered Dumbledore's office.

"Yes, please have a seat," Dumbledore said, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk. Snape sat and waited for the older man to continue. "I have been thinking hard about this, and we need to find a way to keep you protected from Lord Voldemort. When he realizes that you have joined the Order he will not hesitate to kill you. I have decided to offer you a teaching position at Hogwarts. The school will provide protection and as long as you don't leave the grounds, you should be safe."

"I believe I can be of more use than that," Snape replied. "The Dark Lord already knows I have spoken with you and I have convinced him that I intend to spy on you. If he continues to believe this, I can remain in his good graces and inform you of his plans and activities."

"Are you sure, Severus?" Dumbledore asked. "Being a double agent is extremely dangerous. I have no doubt that if Lord Voldemort found out he would not hesitate to kill you on the spot."

"If I don't become a double agent, I have no doubt the Dark Lord would kill me at the first chance he got anyway. I cannot stay in this castle for the rest of my life," Snape replied.

"And you believe your Occlumency will be sufficient to keep him in the dark as to your true loyalties?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," Snape replied. He knew he didn't need to worry about this part. It was Dumbledore he needed to shield and so far, it was working.

"I am still willing to offer you a teaching position," Dumbledore said.

Snape pondered this for a moment. If he were a teacher, he would have much more access to Dumbledore and he would be able to gain much more information about him and the Order's movements that he could pass onto Voldemort. "Is Defence Against the Dark Arts available?" Snape asked.

Dumbledore studied Snape for a moment. He was sure the man was sincere in his feelings for Lily Potter and that he was worried about her, but there was still something about the man that made Dumbledore uneasy. The Defence Against the Dark Arts post was indeed available, as it had been for too many summers to count, but to allow him to teach the subject when he would be spending half his time with Voldemort, surrounded by the very arts he would be intended to teach students to fight… Dumbledore felt it would be best not to give the man any more reason to study the Dark Arts.

"I have two positions open, Potions or Muggle Studies," Dumbledore finally said.

Though a little disappointed that he wouldn't be teaching the Defence class, Snape knew immediately which position he wanted. "I believe I will take the Potions job," he replied. He could not teach Muggle Studies, he hated Muggles.

"Very well, shall I show you to your quarters, then?" Dumbledore asked.

"In a moment, there is one more thing I wished to discuss with you," Snape said. Dumbledore waited for Snape to continue. "Lily is… protected, isn't she?" he asked. He knew whatever protection the Potters had, the Longbottoms would have as well.

"Indeed, and quite safely too, you needn't worry," Dumbledore said, his eyes softening as they spoke.

"You are quite sure the Dark Lord will not be able to find them?" he asked.

"As long as the Fidelius Charm is in place, they will be protected," Dumbledore replied.

So they were protected with the Fidelius Charm, Snape thought. "And the secret keeper is trustworthy, I presume," he said slowly, hoping to find out who it was.

"I will not be revealing their location any time soon," Dumbledore replied.

If Dumbledore was the secret keeper, there was no way Snape could use him to gain access for Voldemort. He changed tactics. "But they must get lonely, stuck in the house all of the time," Snape said.

"They have friends that visit them of course, to deliver groceries and other necessities that cannot be conjured from nothing. And of course, they can use the Floo passage to visit the Longbottoms as well," Dumbledore replied. Snape wondered about this Floo passage. Perhaps this could be used somehow to get inside.

"Floo passage?" Snape asked innocently.

"Their fireplaces are connected so that they can visit each other, but they are closed to any but each other," Dumbledore replied. He was starting to become uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was leading. "I will show you to your quarters now," he said standing up. "They are in the dungeons, so it might get a little cold some nights…"

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Harry look! Your Uncle Sirius got you a birthday present too!" James was saying to his son. It was Harry and Neville's joint birthday party – they had both turned one. James pointed at Sirius.

"Pa-foo!" Harry cried upon seeing his godfather's face. Sirius laughed at his godson's attempt to use his nickname. James handed Harry the present, but Harry was now playing with the ribbon Neville had pulled off of the present he had received from his grandmother. Neither child was making an attempt to actually open their presents, so Frank and James did it for them.

"Sirius!" Lily cried when James had opened Harry's package.

"Look Harry! Uncle Sirius got you a toy broomstick!" James exclaimed, ignoring Lily's protests and angry splutters. Harry smiled and clapped his hands, though more because James was smiling than because of his present – he didn't know what a broom could do.

"A broomstick?" Augusta Longbottom asked, looking down at it. "You don't think that's a little dangerous?"

"Dangerous? It can't get more than a foot high!" Sirius cried.

Frank had just handed Neville the stuffed hippogriff Augusta had gotten for him and Neville was playing with it on the floor. "A stuffed animal on the other hand," Augusta continued as though Sirius hadn't spoken, "cannot possibly pose any kind of threat."

"It's not like we're going to let Harry lose in the middle of London," Sirius argued. "We'll keep him enclosed in the backyard and there will be plenty of adults around to make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

While Sirius and Augusta argued about the broomstick, Lily was thanking Molly for the sweater she had knit for Harry. It was emerald green and it had the initials HP on the front. Molly had also made one for Neville, and it was scarlet with the initials NL on the front.

"I think it's time for the birthday cake," Alice said, emerging from the kitchen, levitating a large chocolate cake in front of her with her wand. She set it down on the table and flicked her wand again, causing the candles to light up.

Lily picked up Harry while Frank picked up Neville and carried them over to the table.

"Make a wish!" Lily said. "Now blow out the candles." Neither boy knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing, so Lily began demonstrating. When she began to blow on the candles, Harry turned and blew into her face, spraying her with spit as he did so.

"Eww," Lily said, turning to Harry and wiping her cheek. Harry just smiled.

"Eeeeeee" Neville cried from Frank's arms, oblivious to what was going on.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"My Lord, the Longbottoms have been placed under the Fidelius Charm," Severus told Voldemort. They were in the same room as always, Voldemort sitting in his chair as usual.

"That much…" Voldemort said, "…was obvious. Did you learn anything useful? Perhaps the identity of the secret keeper?"

"Dumbledore himself is the secret keeper. It would be useless to try to get him to divulge their location," Severus replied.

"Then what have you discovered?" Voldemort asked. "Surely you did not seek an audience with me simply to tell me you knew nothing." Severus noticed Voldemort's hand inching closer and closer to his wand.

"There is a passage," Severus revealed. "A Floo passage, connecting the Potters' and the Longbottoms' fireplaces."

Voldemort's hand stilled. A Floo passage – this was quite interesting. Perhaps he would be able to utilize it in some way to get into the Longbottoms' house.

"You may go now, Severus. Report back in one week," Voldemort instructed.

"Very well, My Lord," Severus said, bowing and turning to go to the door. As he headed there, he wondered how the Dark Lord would use his information. Surely he wouldn't be able to get into the Potters' house… but he was the Dark Lord, and he could manage almost anything.

"My Lord?" Severus said, just before exiting the room. "Do you intend to kill the Potters as well?" he asked.

Voldemort hadn't really thought about that. He supposed if they were there, he would dispose of them. Better to kill them than to have them get in his way. "Possibly," Voldemort replied.

"Would you… would you spare Lily?" Severus asked quietly, preparing for the pain of the Cruciatus.

Voldemort, however, was confused to say the least. Why would Severus care about the girl? She was a disgrace to wizardry, a Mudblood. He took hold of his wand and plunged himself into Severus' mind.

He was ten and Lily was playing in the field with her sister, the wind blowing her hair all around her head… He was eleven and Lily had received her Hogwarts letter. He was explaining Quidditch to her… They were on the Hogwarts Express and Lily was eating a chocolate frog she had bought from the trolley lady… He watched in jealousy as she was sorted into Gryffindor and shook hands with Sirius Black... He was thirteen and he was helping Lily with her Transfiguration... He was sixteen and he watched with longing as Lily walked to Hogsmeade, hand in hand with James Potter... He was eighteen and he saw their engagement announcement in _The Daily Prophet_. A lone tear fell onto the newspaper before he crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the fire.

"You love her?" Voldemort asked, still confused. Severus remained silent. "Very well," Voldemort said finally. Severus breathed a sigh of relief and left the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Happy Birthday Neville," Alice said softly as she placed him gently in his crib. He was still clutching the stuffed hippogriff he had received from Augusta. He was one. He had survived for one year. They had stayed in the house for one year. Neville had remained safe for one year. How many more years would they have to live like this before it was safe to go out? How many more years would it be before Neville could go to Diagon Alley or Hosmeade? How could Neville defeat Voldemort, the most powerful Dark wizard in the world, if he never went outside the four walls of Number 7 Elm Street?

Neville hummed in his sleep. "I love you, Neville," Alice whispered.

* * *

**So what'd you think? Loved it... hate it... somewhere in between...? Well anyway, I've got the next three chapters pretty much planned, I just have to write them. After that... well, I'm still working on them. Also, I need a good Death Eater name. It needs to be a name that doesn't already belong to someone in the story though so don't suggest like, Travers or something. I'm creating a new character (a pretty minor character) and he's going to be a male Death Eater, but I suck at naming so if you guys have any ideas... Also, I have no clue how much Harry and Neville should be talking/walking/eating/whatever at this age, google keeps telling me that it depends on the baby...** **So if it seems a little unrealistic, I'm terribly sorry. Alright, and... go! Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. So here's the next chapter, finally. Actually, it hasn't been that long... So this chapter takes place in mid-August. Ginny was born on August 11th I believe, so it's a few days after that. Special thanks to Heinz-Lee for the Death Eater name :) It's nice to know I have readers that can come up with the stuff I'm horrible at. Anyway, on to the chapter...!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Plans

"Has Molly had the baby yet?" Lily asked as she and Alice sat with their sons in the Longbottom's living room as usual. Harry had now mastered the art of walking and was toddling all around the room. Neville had not yet managed to figure out how to keep his balance and was following Harry around on his hands and knees.

"Yes, Emmeline came over yesterday and told me. She had a girl this time," Alice replied, sipping her tea.

"Oh that's wonderful! Molly must be so happy. Do you know what she named her?" Lily asked. "No Harry, put that down!" Lily pried the glass out of Harry's hands before he dropped it and put it on a shelf too high for him to reach.

"Apparently she named her Ginevra, but Emmeline was calling her Ginny," Alice replied.

"Aww, that's so cute. When she's a little older, she'll be able to play with Harry, Ron and Neville," Lily said. She looked down at her growing belly. "And this little wonder," she said.

"Did you find out if you're having a boy or a girl?" Alice asked.

"No, James and I want to be surprised," Lily replied.

"What are you going to do when it's time for the baby to be born?" Alice asked. "You'll have to leave the protection of the Fidelius to go to St. Mungo's."

"James and I have been wondering that as well. We asked Dumbledore and he's trying to find a trustworthy Healer to deliver the baby at home, but we'll find out when it gets closer to the date, I suppose.

"How much longer do you have now?" Alice asked.

"About five months," Lily replied, "hopefully it's long enough for Dumbledore to find someone. Harry, don't touch that!" Lily grabbed the vase off the coffee table and put it on the shelf with the glass. "Sorry about Harry, he's been grabbing everything he can get his hands on ever since he began to walk."

"It's alright," Alice replied. She looked over at Neville, pulling himself along the carpet with his fists. Harry had been walking for a little while now. When would Neville start to walk? Was there something wrong with him? Frank had said babies are all different, but Molly said Ron started walking at ten months and Neville was already over a year old. "Would you like a biscuit?"

"Sure," Lily replied. Alice stood and went to fetch a plate of biscuits from the kitchen.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"My Lord, Anderson is here and claims you sent for him," Bellatrix said from the doorway.

"Send him in," Voldemort said from his chair.

Bellatrix disappeared for a moment and then the Death Eater named Anderson entered the room. "My Lord," he said, bowing before his master.

"I need you to help me to gain entry to a house with a restricted Floo passage," Voldemort said.

"What are the restrictions on the Floo at this house?" Anderson asked.

"The fireplace is connected to only one other and both houses are protected with the Fidelius Charm," Voldemort replied.

Anderson paused for a moment to process the information. "But then… My Lord, to gain entry would be impossible, unless you can get through the Fidelius."

"Of course I can't get through the Fidelius!" Voldemort cried. "I wouldn't need your help if I could get in, you imbecile. Crucio!" He let Anderson writhe in pain on the floor for a minute or two. When he felt his anger was under control enough to carry on the conversation, he ended the pain and allowed Anderson to get up.

"So you cannot allow me to travel through the passage," Voldemort said. Anderson didn't say a word, for fear he may be cursed again. "Is there any way you can utilize this passage to my advantage?" Voldemort asked.

"With my position at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Transportation, I believe I can use the passage in another way," Anderson said carefully, not wanting to anger the Lord again. "I can listen through the passage to any conversations going on near the fireplaces."

Voldemort contemplated this for a moment. He couldn't travel to their houses, but if he could spy on their conversations, he might find out something useful. "Very well. I want you to listen to all conversations at both houses and report anything of consequence back to me. I want your first report in twenty four hours unless you have information sooner."

"As you wish, My Lord," Anderson said. "What houses would you like me to spy on?"

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Where are Harry and Lily today?" Sirius asked. He James and Remus were talking in the Potters' living room.

"They went to see Alice and Neville. Something about afternoon tea," James said, clearly indicating that he thought having tea in the afternoon was silly.

"What's wrong, Prongs?" Remus asked, sensing that James wasn't quite himself

"I've been stuck in this house for over a year, Moony. I'm bored. There's nothing to do. I can't even do my own groceries. Speaking of, did you buy tuna? Lily's been asking for tuna and she's getting pretty irritable," James said.

"Don't worry, there's tuna," Sirius replied. "You know what you need?" he asked mysteriously.

"What?" James asked warily. He knew that tone, and it was usually the one Sirius used right before they planned a prank.

"You should come with us on Saturday," Sirius said.

James knew what Sirius meant. Next Saturday was the full moon. "But Padfoot, I'm supposed to stay in the house," James replied.

"You won't look like James though, you'll be Prongs," Sirius said. "Nobody but us will know it's you."

"What if You-Know-Who finds him, Padfoot? It could be dangerous," Remus said.

"What did I just say Moony? He'll look like Prongs. We're the only ones that know about Prongs," Sirius replied.

"Wormtail knows about Prongs too," Remus said.

"And what's gormless little Peter going to do to James, Moony?" Sirius asked, clearly a challenge.

"Nothing on his own, but he could have told You-Know-Who about Prongs," Remus replied.

"Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure, Moony? It's not like I'm suggesting we bring Harry with us," Sirius said.

"Really Padfoot, this is James' safety we're talking about," Remus said.

"Then maybe we should ask James' opinion on all of this," Sirius said, turning to his best friend. He knew James would want to go, he would've thought the benefits far outweighed the risks.

"I'm not sure… What would Lily think?" James asked.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Don't tell her," he said.

James was now just looking for excuses. He really wanted to go, he needed to go, get out of the house, just for a few hours. But at the same time, he was afraid to leave the safety of his sanctuary. He knew nothing could touch him here.

_What happened to my Gryffindor courage?_ James wondered to himself. _I sound like a Hufflepuff._ James hadn't thought much of Hufflepuff house ever since Carrie Jones broke up with him in fifth year. He never actually liked Carrie, he only wanted to make Lily jealous, but only a fool would break up with a Marauder.

"Alright, I'll come Saturday," James said finally. "Come around seven, that way we'll have enough time to get to the shack before nightfall.

"Prongs, you don't have to do this," Remus said, always the cautious one.

"Shove off Moony, he wants to come," Sirius said, grinning at his victory. Padfoot and Prongs would run together again.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Anderson disapparated from the Ministry almost immediately. He had been listening to the fireplaces just as the Dark Lord had instructed and he had overheard James, Sirius and Remus' entire conversation.

When he arrived at the Dark Lord's hideout, he presented his Dark Mark to the metal snake coiled on the door. With a click, the door swung open and allowed him to enter. He identified himself to the two masked guard Death Eaters inside and they checked his arm again for the Dark Mark.

They allowed him to pass through to the next room, where he was told to wait. Another masked Death Eater informed Bellatrix Lestrange that a Death Eater by the name of Anderson was here to see the Dark Lord, and Bellatrix proceeded to his room to ask if he was to be let in.

When she had been instructed to fetch Anderson, she returned to the waiting room and led Anderson through the labyrinth of corridors all the way to the end, where Voldemort waited.

"My Lord, I have news," Anderson said when he had entered the room. "James Potter intends to leave his home at seven o'clock this Saturday. It sounded as though he intended to return the following morning."

"Is that all?" Voldemort asked.

"Yes, My Lord," Anderson replied.

"You may go. Continue to listen at the fireplaces for the time being," Voldemort instructed.

"Yes, My Lord," Anderson replied as he left the room.

Had he been capable, Voldemort would have smiled. Potter was all but handing him the key to the Longbottom's demise. There were two ways to penetrate a Fidelius Charm. The most obvious was to be told the location by the secret keeper, but since Dumbledore was the secret keeper for both the Longbottoms and the Potters; that was out of the question.

The other way was to be led into the house by the resident of the house. This method was usually ignored as residents at houses under the Fidelius Charm usually remained concealed. If James was indeed planning on leaving his house on Saturday next, it would be all too easy for Voldemort to follow him back in. Voldemort could almost taste his victory over the young Longbottom. After this, nobody would dare to oppose him; he would be unstoppable.

* * *

**And the plot thickens... Big time. Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions? I wonder who's going to die? Is Voldemort's plan going to work? Maybe he'll just kill Neville in the next chapter and the story will be over. Should I do that? If you don't want me to, I'd advise that you let me know in a review :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, so it's still around the middle of August, and it's the Saturday after the previous chapter, the one they talked about. I think that's all I wanted to say about the chapter for now... So go ahead and read :)**

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Chapter 7: To Run Again

"What are your plans tonight, Lily?" James asked at six thirty Saturday evening. He had about half an hour before Remus and Sirius came to get him and he still hadn't figured out how to get out of the house without Lily finding out.

"I don't know, I'll probably do some reading," Lily said as she flicked her wand at the dirty dishes and they began to clean themselves off in the sink.

"You know, I think Frank mentioned something about Alice needing some company tonight," James said, hoping he could get Lily out of the house.

"Maybe I could get her to come over then," Lily said excitedly. "I'll send her a Patronus message."

"Or," James said quickly. If Alice came over here it would only be harder to get away as Frank would probably come with her, "you could Floo over there."

"But we haven't been invited, that would be rude," Lily said.

"I'm sure you would be welcomed warmly," James said. "It's not as though they don't get enough time alone."

"Alright, I'll get Harry and then we can go," Lily said. She left the room and James let out a heavy sigh. This wasn't working out very well. He followed Lily to Harry's room where he was awake and ready to be changed.

"Lily, I think I'll stay here tonight actually," James said.

"Why?" Lily said, turning to look at him with a confused expression on her face.

"Well, I'm a bit tired," James said, yawning for effect, "and I don't really fancy seeing Frank tonight to be honest." If James was being honest, he would have added that this was because he was going to be seeing Moony and Padfoot, but he left this out. He felt a little guilty about lying to Lily, but he ignored the guilt, focusing instead on how amazing it would be to run again.

"How can you be tired?" Lily asked. "You took a nap this afternoon."

James almost pounded his fist against his head. He had forgotten, obviously he wasn't tired. He had taken the nap because he knew he wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

"Maybe we should talk to Dumbledore about this, you could be ill," Lily said, concerned. The guilt welled up inside James again as he looked into his wife's eyes, but he pushed it away.

"I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow, I just need some rest," James said.

"Well alright," Lily said, finishing up with Harry and picking him up. "You're sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"I'll be fine," James said, looking away, unable to look Lily in the face any longer.

"I'll see you later then," Lily said. James nodded and Lily left the room to Floo to the Longbottoms'.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Voldemort stood on Lentmead Lane between house numbers eight and ten. Though Wormtail was no longer the Potters' secret keeper, he was able to tell Voldemort the address, which allowed Voldemort to find the general location. He knew Potter cottage was there, between house eight and house ten, but he could not see it.

He heard voices approaching from down the lane, and he made himself invisible. As he watched Black and Lupin stroll down the sidewalk towards the cottage, he itched to raise his wand and end their lives. As members of the Order of the Phoenix, they were frequently getting in the way of his Death Eaters and setting his plans days or weeks back, sometimes even months.

However, if his plan was going to work, he needed to leave them alive, so he watched silently as they approached and looked around to ensure nobody was watching. It was foolish, so foolish of them to assume that there was nobody here just because they couldn't see them. They approached the gate separating number eight from number ten, and suddenly, they had disappeared from view.

Voldemort waited while they were inside the house. Now he knew where the house was, all he had to do was get inside. He heard a sound from the end of the street. He turned to look and saw an older couple walking hand-in-hand along the sidewalk. His blood boiled, these Muggles had no right to be walking around in a Wizarding community. It was a simple curse, all he needed to do was raise his wand and say the words, but he didn't. It would be quite obvious when the men left the house that he was here if there were dead Muggles lying in the street.

It took all of his self-control to remain still. The Muggle couple walked on and out of his sight and Voldemort turned his attention back to Potter cottage. After a few more minutes, Lupin and Black appeared once more, exactly where they had been when they had disappeared. Behind them was a stag. Voldemort knew from the information he had received from Wormtail that the stag was James Potter.

Voldemort watched as the three men looked around to ensure they weren't being watched. Black grabbed hold of the stag and the three disapparated with a crack.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When they arrived on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, Prongs broke into a run. His prancing caused Sirius to break into a fit of laughter. Watching his best friend have this much fun was great. Sirius transformed into Padfoot and chased after Prongs. Remus continued to walk towards the shrieking shack on his own, knowing his friends would be following. Though he was glad James was enjoying himself and admittedly found his enthusiasm quite entertaining, his demeanour was somber. In just a little while, he would be forced to undergo an extremely painful transformation and he would completely lose himself to the wolf.

When he arrived at the shack, he let himself in, and after Prongs and Padfoot had followed him in, he locked the door. Sirius and James transformed back into themselves know that they were in the shack and followed Remus up the stairs to the room they usually went to for the transformation. None of them spoke; Sirius and James had learned at this point that it was best to leave Remus alone when he was close to transforming. They would speak in the morning.

Remus began to take his clothes off, not wanting them to rip apart when he transformed and he placed them in the crumbling dresser on the far wall. James had taken a seat on the edge of the moth-eaten bed and Sirius was perched on the wooden chair by the door, hoping it was still strong enough to hold his weight.

A ripple ran through Remus' body as it prepared for the transformation and he held his head in his hands, the pain already attacking his spine. Through the cracks in the ceiling, James could see the full moon rise into the sky and as its light shone down into the room onto Remus, his head popped up as though it was pulled by a string.

He looked directly at the orb in the sky and his pupils dilated, allowing them to absorb as much of the moon's light as they could. His body began to tremble and Remus cried out. James and Sirius stood and transformed, ready to deal with Moony.

When the transformation was complete, Padfoot and Prongs remained as still as possible, waiting for Moony to make the first move. Moony was panting and hunched over. He raised his head to the moon and howled.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Remus lay on the floor of the shack, naked, bleeding and trembling. As much as James had enjoyed having the chance to get out of his house and run again, he would vow to never leave the house again if it meant Remus never had to go through this again.

He and Sirius had decided at some point in the night that they had Moony under control enough to leave the shack and they had run around in the forest for a few hours. James had felt like a teenager again, though the absence of the fourth member of the group cast a shadow over his joy.

While James fetched Remus' clothes from the dresser were the other man had placed them the night before, Sirius bent over him and began healing his wounds. James looked outside and watched as the sun rose higher into the sky. He had avoided all thoughts of Lily last night, but now he was nervous to face her. He knew she would be extremely mad about his adventure.

When Sirius finished healing Remus' wounds, James flicked his wand causing Remus' clothes to appear on his body. James held out his hand to his friend and pulled him to his feet. Remus was still visibly shaking and James kept one hand on his friend's shoulder while he regained his balance.

"Did I…?" Remus asked, fear in his eyes. This was always the first question he asked after a full moon.

"No," Sirius answered gently. Remus was terrified that he would attack or bite someone while he wasn't himself. It was his greatest fear.

Remus took a deep breath closed his eyes, steadying himself. "I'm alright," he said when his eyes had opened again.

"You're sure?" Sirius asked, eyeing his friend warily.

"Yeah, I don't have to deal with that for another month," Remus said, a hint of a smile on his lips.

James and Sirius knew Remus wouldn't really be fine until the next day at least. It always took time to recover from a full moon, but it was time to get James back to his house. They trooped downstairs and unlocked the door. James turned back into Prongs and they apparated to Godric's Hollow.

0o0o0o0o0o0

He heard them before he saw them. Black and Lupin were coming down the street with the stag, ready to return to Potter cottage. As they approached the place, Voldemort moved forward without so much sound as a whisper and stood with the three. He silently cast a spell on the stag so that it wouldn't feel anything, and then he carefully placed his hand on its back. He needed to be in contact with James to get into the cottage. The two men looked around the street and then proceeded to walk into what looked like a gate to Voldemort, but must surely be the cottage.

He felt a ripple of magic pass over him and then suddenly, he was standing in front of house number nine – Potter cottage. He had gotten through the Fidelius Charm. Black and Lupin led the stag through the front door and Voldemort made sure to slip through without being noticed, still invisible. He didn't want to be found out, not because he didn't think he could kill them all, but because he didn't want the Longbottoms alerted to his presence here. Potter transformed back into himself and the three men went through a door at the end of the hall.

"James Potter where have you been?" he heard Lily Potter screech from the room. "I should have known you two would have been behind it! I've been worried sick! I thought You-Know-Who had gotten you."

Voldemort ignored the rest of the shouting going on. He cared nothing for them. If he had the chance after taking care of the Longbottom, he would return here and kill them all. Voldemort crept through the house until he found the fireplace, careful to avoid the room where all the shouting was going on.

"I don't care that you've been cooped up for over a year, so have I and I haven't been prancing around the countryside!" Lily was screaming from the room.

Voldemort grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the jar above the mantel and stepped into the fireplace. He made sure his wand was ready in his other hand and dropped the powder to the floor, green flames jumping up around him immediately.

* * *

**So what do you think? Do you all hate me for ending it like that? Let me know in a review :) I wonder if he'll manage to kill Neville in the next chapter... **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey there, so I'd like to apologize now for the shortness of this chapter. I would have continued, but I wanted this chapter to only include this one specific moment in time. The chapter takes place immediately following the previous chapter, so there's no time gap like I've had. And... yeah, I think that's all I had to say, so on with the reading!**

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Chapter 8: Burning

Pain. Bone-crushing, gut-wrenching, excruciating pain. It felt as though every inch, every fiber of his being was on fire, he was burning, he could feel the flames consuming him from the outside in. Then there was nothingness; an abyss of emptiness and silence and darkness. There was nothing left of him, and yet he could not go on. Somewhere, somehow, something was tying him to the plane he had just departed. He couldn't move forward or back, his only option was to let himself be consumed by the nothingness.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When Alice heard the front door open, she knew James had finally returned. She heard footsteps approaching and Lily stood up from the stool she had been occupying, ready to attack.

James entered the kitchen first, followed by Sirius and Remus. He had a guarded expression on his face, as though unsure how to approach his angry wife.

"James Potter where have you been?" Lily screeched. "I should have known you two would have been behind it! I've been worried sick! I thought You-Know-Who had gotten you."

Remus was looking down at the ground, making it clear that he felt ashamed to have put James in that situation. Sirius on the other hand had a huge grin on his face and didn't seem even the tiniest bit sorry or regretful.

As James floundered for a response to his wife's outburst, Alice picked up Neville and quietly slipped out of the room. Neville didn't like it when people shouted at each other, and Alice was pretty sure there would be plenty more shouting coming from Lily. Alice decided she would Floo home for an hour or so and then return when Lily had finished yelling at James.

"I don't care that you've been cooped up for over a year, so have I and I haven't been prancing around the countryside!" Lily was screaming from the kitchen.

Alice chuckled and headed down the hall to the living room. When she stepped in, she only had a moment to process what she was seeing before she fell. Standing in the fireplace, in the middle of the green flames of the Floo network was the one she was trying so desperately to hide from. She didn't even have time to let out a scream before the fireplace exploded and she fell to the ground.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Dumbledore was sitting in his office when he felt it. Something was seriously wrong at the Potters'. Of all the wards he had placed around the cottage, the only protection still intact was the Fidelius Charm. He had a very bad feeling about it. He dropped the quill he had been writing with and stood up. He opened a window in the anti-apparition wards around Hogwarts for a moment to allow him to leave, and he arrived in Godric's Hollow less than a second later.

He couldn't apparate directly into the Potters' home due to the Fidelius Charm, but when he appeared outside it, he could already see that something terrible had happened.

0o0o0o0o0o0

He was in his new classroom, organizing the desks for the coming year when he felt it. It was like a blinding, burning pain ripping through his left forearm. He pulled his sleeve back to look at his Dark Mark and saw that it was burning red. He slowly crumpled to the floor as the pain in his arm built and built. It was as though flames were licking their way up and out of the Mark all throughout his arm. He cried out, but nobody would hear him down in the dungeons.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. All that remained was tingling, an after-effect of the burning. His breath was now coming in shallow pants and his normally greasy hair was now plastered to his forehead with sweat. He gradually rose to his feet and with shaking legs, made his way over to a chair before collapsing into it. He turned his arm over again to look at the Mark, and he found that it was now a pale grey. He could almost pretend that it wasn't there.

Snape knew then, that something had gone terribly wrong.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When they heard the bang, Lily and James put an immediate end to their argument. The four bolted from the room, wands drawn, and burst into the living room. It appeared as though the fireplace had exploded, and there was now a huge hole in the side of their house and Lily could see right through the window into her neighbor's house. Ash and soot covered every surface possible in the room and there was rubble littering the ground.

Neville was lying on the ground, face down, crying, and apparently unable to move due to the wooden board on top of his legs. Next to him lay Alice. She too lay face down and was motionless. Her wand was clutched in her hand and the other hand was wrapped around Neville's pinkie finger.

All the four friends could do was stare at the horrific scene in front of them. They were paralysed with shock and fear. What had happened here?

0o0o0o0o0o0

Frank woke up with an odd feeling inside of him. Something was telling him that he needed to find Alice right away. He got up and found a note on his nightstand. It read:

_Frank,_

_James disappeared. I'm going over there to wait with Lily. I'm taking Neville to let you sleep longer, I noticed you were restless last night. _

_Lots of love,_

_Alice _

Something strange was going on. James had disappeared. Frank supposed James could have simply sneaked away from Lily, but there was also a possibility that something bad had happened to him. And the feeling Frank had in the pit of his stomach was telling him that something bad had happened to Alice and Neville.

Still dressed in only his boxers, Frank ran down to the living room, grabbing a handful of Floo powder from the container on the side table in the hallway. He burst into the room and froze. Everything was where it should be, the room was unmistakably his living room, but there was something wrong with it. The fireplace that had stood on the opposite wall with the armchair facing it was gone.

It didn't seem as though it had been removed or vanished; that would have left some sort of hole in the wall. It appeared as though the fireplace had never existed. Frank began to panic. There was something very wrong with all of this. Throwing caution to the wind, Frank ran out of his house and apparated as soon as he had passed all the wards. He reappeared in Godric's Hollow a moment later and ran as fast as he could to Potter cottage.

* * *

**So thoughts? Leave them in a review! Have you guys figured out what happened? What's going on with these fireplaces? Is Alice dead, or just knocked out? Answers to most of this comes in chapter 9 :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there, so here is chapter 9. My intention had been to have it up on July 31st in honor of Harry's birthday, but I had a series of unfortunate circumstances. I had to work late and then my computer decided it didn't like me anymore and now I'm about twenty minutes late :( Let's all say a Happy Belated Birthday to Harry anyway though :) Also, Happy Belated Birthday to Neville because he is the star of this show and there was no way I was going to be able to get this up for Tuesday. **

**Also, it's really late, and like I said before, I had to work late tonight and I'm tired and I stayed up to get this chapter ready for reading, so if it's not very good, please don't hate me. I promise to try to do better. If there's something bad I've done that you'd like to alert me to, feel free to leave it in a review, but please be nice. Like I said, I'm tired.**

**This chapter takes place immediately following the previous chapter, so no time gaps again. I don't want to give anything away, so let's get on with the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Devastation

Dumbledore hurried into the house right away and went straight to the living room, where there appeared to have been an explosion. He knew before he even got inside that Voldemort had been there. When he arrived, he found Lily, James, Sirius and Remus standing in shock, staring at the scene before them.

When Dumbledore saw the hole where the fireplace had been, he understood what had happened. When he had set up the Floo passage between the Potters' and the Longbottoms', he had been wary, and had added some extra protection. He had set up a ward that would cause the Floo passage to shut down if Voldemort or the Death Eaters got through the Fidelius Charm. Once the Floo passage was closed, if someone tried to use it, they would be destroyed and the fireplace would blow up. Voldemort must have intended to use it to get to the Longbottoms, but it had clearly backfired.

Dumbledore diverted his attention from the Floo to Alice and Neville, who were on the ground. While the other four people standing in the room had still not regained the use of their limbs, Dumbledore freed Neville from the rubble and handed him to Lily. As soon as Neville was in Lily's arms, he stopped crying.

"What happened?" James asked Dumbledore, finally able to talk again.

"I am not entirely sure of the whole thing myself," Dumbledore said.

While the men were talking, Lily was studying Neville carefully. He appeared to have gotten a cut on his forehead when the explosion happened. Lily found it quite strange that he would have been cut in the exact shape of a lightning bolt. Even stranger, it wasn't bleeding like it should; already it looked like a scar, as though he had had it for awhile now.

Dumbledore was now bending over Alice and Lily decided to wait to ask about the strange mark on Neville's head. While Dumbledore examined Alice, Lily held her breath, hoping that somehow, Alice had survived, that she wasn't… Lily couldn't even bring herself to think the fateful word.

In the next split-second, two things happened at the same time. Just as Frank Longbottom came running into the room in a panicked frenzy, Dumbledore raised his head, tears visible in his eyes and uttered the worst two words he could have uttered. "She's dead," he said softly.

Frank lost it. He began to scream and ran to Alice's lifeless side and began to shake her, softly at first, and then harder and harder until he couldn't do it anymore and he collapsed on top of her, trembling and letting out gut-wrenching sobs.

All Lily could feel was emptiness and numbness. This woman had been her best friend for the past year. She had gone to visit her almost every day, and now all that was left of her was an empty shell. And clutched in Lily's arms, was the woman's son.

Neville was watching his father with confusion. What was daddy doing to mommy? If daddy got off of her, mommy could get up, but daddy was crushing her. Neville wanted to tell daddy to stop whatever he was doing, but he hadn't yet learned to speak. "Gaaaaahhh!" Neville cried. "Eeeeeeeeeeee!" When daddy still didn't listen to him, Neville began to cry.

"I think Neville needs to be taken out of here," Remus said softly. Lily wordlessly handed Neville to Remus. For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off of her friend on the floor.

Remus gently took Neville and walked to the kitchen with him. Sirius and James followed after him to give Frank a moment with Alice and Dumbledore gently led Lily out as well.

"How could this have happened?" Lily asked, feeling as though she wasn't really there. Though her body was in the kitchen, sitting on a stool, she felt as though she were still back in the living room with Frank. When she asked the question, she felt her eyes well up and a tear slipped down her cheek.

Dumbledore looked at the woman and the three men in front of him and tried to understand exactly what had happened to himself. "For the explosion to have occurred, the Floo passage must have shut down. I placed wards around the house that would cause the Floo passage to close in the event that Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters got into the house," he explained.

"But… you're saying a Death Eater got in?" James asked.

"I believe it was Voldemort himself that was in your house," Dumbledore said.

Lily and James' eyes widened and Lily felt numb. How could that _thing_ have been in her house?

"How?" James asked, this being the only word he could manage. As far as he was aware, the only way for someone to get into a house protected by the Fidelius Charm was to be told the location by the secret keeper. He slowly backed away from Dumbledore, his eyes widening even further. He couldn't believe Dumbledore would tell Voldemort his location, but how else did this happen?

"I do not know," Dumbledore said. "I haven't revealed the location to anyone and you and Lily haven't left the house."

James felt a shockwave course through him. He turned to look at Sirius and Remus, who were both also appeared as stunned as he was. "Professor, what was that about leaving the house?" he asked.

"Well the second way of getting into a house protected by the Fidelius Charm is to be brought in directly by the residents of the house, so if you or Lily had left the house, you could have led Voldemort into the house without realizing it, but of course, you've been inside for the past year," Dumbledore replied.

Lily felt all the anger from before boil up inside of her. She now understood exactly what had happened. James had been reckless enough to leave the house and he had led Voldemort here. "James Potter what have you done?" she cried, standing up and drawing her wand on her husband. "This is all your fault James, I can't believe you would do that. Was it worth it? Was running for a couple of hours worth Alice's life? Did you have a great time prancing around on the countryside? What if he'd decided to kill Harry? What if he'd been a second later and had killed Neville too?"

James was numb. He was in total shock. He could see Lily approaching him menacingly, her wand drawn. He could hear the words coming out of her mouth, but they were muffled. He couldn't believe what he had done. He should have known, in fact when James thought about it, he could vaguely remember learning in his seventh year at Hogwarts that the Fidelius Charm could be broken two different ways. That day he and Sirius had been scheming ways to turn Snape's hair pink without him realizing. He hadn't listened to much of what Professor Manning had said.

"James, is this true? Did you leave your home?" Dumbledore asked quite calmly in comparison with Lily who had fire burning in her eyes.

"Yes Sir," James said, his head dropping in shame. He felt it, he was ashamed of how he had acted. He wasn't a teenager anymore, he was supposed to be a responsible adult and instead he had been foolish and reckless and he had put Lily's and Harry's lives in danger, he had put Neville's life in danger and he had cost Alice her life.

"I see," Dumbledore said. "Well there is no use dwelling on that now, throwing around the blame doesn't change what is done."

"Professor, may I ask what happened to You-Know-Who?" Remus asked, still holding Neville, now bouncing him up and down to keep him quiet.

"He is gone," Dumbledore replied. "The Floo passage was designed to shut down, and it did so. This particular Floo passage was intended to kill anyone who tried to use it when it had shut down."

"So he's dead?" Sirius asked, leaning forward in his seat a little.

"It seems that way," Dumbledore said. "Though I cannot be positive." When it came to Voldemort, Dumbledore wasn't about to assume anything.

"What's this?" Remus said suddenly. As he had been bouncing Neville, he had slowly spun him around to face him. He was now staring right at Neville's forehead. "Neville has some sort of cut," he said.

Dumbledore took one look at the lightning-shaped scar and stood up. "Nothing to worry about, probably just a scratch from the explosion," he said nonchalantly. There was something about that scar, something unnerving. Dumbledore knew there was something more going on here than what appeared to be. "I believe I must be going now, I will return tomorrow to remove the Fidelius Charm as it appears it is no longer necessary and I will do the same at Frank's house." Without a pause, Dumbledore left the house and disapparated.

"I still don't understand what's going on," James said, staring at the door Dumbledore had exited through.

"I think it's quite simple," Lily said, her words laced with anger. "You left the house and then led You-Know-Who into the house. He wanted to kill Neville so he tried to Floo to Alice's house, but instead he was killed and Alice was killed in the explosion. And none of it would have happened if you had just stayed here." Lily grabbed Neville from Remus and left the room as well to go and see how Frank was holding up.

"I'm sorry," Sirius said. "I shouldn't have convinced you to come with us last night."

"No, I'm sorry," Remus said. "I knew it was a bad idea and I didn't try and stop you."

"It was my idea, and I'll take the blame for it Moony," Sirius said.

"No Padfoot. You didn't know any better, I did. I should have made a stronger argument," said Remus.

James had had enough. He didn't want his friends blaming themselves. "Stop guys, just stop. I'm the one who said yes, I'm the one who lied to Lily, I'm the one who left the house, and I'm the one who led him in. It's my fault."

James turned and looked out the window. "I killed Alice. I didn't do it directly, but I'm the reason she's dead. It so easily could have been Neville, or Harry. I have no business being a father." James looked at his two friends and saw that they were both ready to start contradicting him and trying to convince him it wasn't his fault, but it was no use. Sirius hadn't convinced him to leave, he had wanted to all along, and he wouldn't be able to convince James he was wrong about this because he knew what he was; he was a killer.

He stood and walked out of the house to the street. He turned back to take one last look at his house and allowed one tear to slip down his cheek before he turned on the spot and disapparated.

* * *

**I'd like to take this moment to apologize to Faithacad, the anonymous guest reviewer and everyone else who didn't leave a review that didn't want Alice to die. I'm sorry. It's very hard to kill off characters, I've found. I've spent the last few days debating, but in the end, I needed to have Alice die for the rest of the story to work.**

**So yeah. Leave a review? I like reviews and I haven't had any for a couple days (probably because I haven't posted for a few days, but still...) And what's up with James? Where's he going? Is he coming back, or is he gone for good? Will Lily be upset he left or is she still so mad at him that she's glad he's gone? **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey there readers! Here we go, I give you... chapter 10 :) Just as it has been for the past few chapters, this chapter occurs immediately following the previous chapter. In fact I believe the beginning part with Frank happens during the conversation in the kitchen from the previous chapter. Anyways, I'll stop the author's note here and let you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Blame

There was nothing but emptiness. A giant hole inside of him that he couldn't fill, that he knew could never heal. Frank couldn't understand how he was supposed to go on without Alice. She was his everything, and she was gone. Her lifeless body lay limp in his arms and she slowly slid to the floor as his arms began to feel weak. He stared into her eyes, wishing that they would light up the way they used to whenever Alice was happy, but they remained empty and dead, staring into nothingness.

Alice's face was wet with Frank's tears, and he slowly wiped them off with the bottom of his shirt. He wanted to preserve her beautiful face and hated to see it covered in sadness. Frank took hold of Alice's hand and squeezed it hard, the way he always did for her when she needed reassurance and comfort, but her hand could no longer offer him what it once had; support, calmness, encouragement, soothing.

Alice had been his whole world. When he met her, it had been as though his entire life leading up to that point had been for nothing because she was his everything. When he was with Alice, time and space melted away and it was just the two of them. Even when he was at work, Alice was with him. They were partners in the auror office. They had been so in sync; it was as though they could read each other's minds. Frank had always protected Alice from every attack, until now.

Frank had gone to sleep early and because of that, Alice had come over here without him. If he had stayed up a little longer, he would have been awake when Alice found out that James was missing and he would have come with her. It was his fault. All Frank wanted to do was crawl into a lonely cave somewhere with Alice's body and stay there for the rest of his short life, clutching the one thing he had loved more than anything else in the world.

"Daaaaaaaaa!" came a squeal from behind Frank. Frank's head jerked up and his eyes fell upon Neville. He realized that he had been wrong. Alice had indeed been his everything, but only until Neville came into the world. Now he had two people he loved more than anything. He watched Neville as he examined Alice's body, still motionless on the ground. "Maaaa?"

As horrible as Frank was feeling, as much as he wanted to cry for the rest of eternity for the loss of his wife, he had to think about Neville. Neville was alive and well and somehow, he had managed to stay alive. Frank had to be strong for his son; he had to be there for him. Neville was only one year old, he needed his father.

"Neville," Frank said, reaching his arms out to hold his son. Lily handed him over to Frank and he stood, clutching his son to his chest. Lily crumpled to the ground by her friend and finally allowed herself to feel the grief that she had tried to cover up with anger when it had threatened to overwhelm her. If she hadn't asked Alice to come over when she had discovered James missing, she wouldn't have died in the explosion. It was so easy to blame James, but she knew that it was her fault to. James hadn't known what he was doing and neither had she. She was as much to blame for Alice's death as James was.

"Maaaa?" Neville said again, wondering why his mother had still not gotten up from the ground. His mother always came when he called her; she always gave him the attention he wanted. "Maaaa!" he cried when still his mother didn't move.

Frank was heartbroken for his son. As he watched Neville attempt to get his mother's attention, he began to cry again. Neville would never again hear his mother's sweet voice lull him to sleep; he would never again be cared for by her gentle hands. Neville would never again feel the warmth of a mother's love because he no longer had a mother. Frank almost felt guilty; he had known Alice for years and little Neville had known her for only a little over one year.

Through the mask of tears now coating his face, Frank locked his eyes onto those of his son. He swallowed a fresh wave of sobs that threatened to escape him when he saw the expression on Neville's face. "No mama Neville," Frank said; his voice cracking as he tried to explain to his one year old son that his mother had died. "Mama's gone."

"No Ma?" Neville asked, confusion etched into his face.

"No Ma," Frank confirmed. As he watched Neville's eyes well up with tears, he engulfed him in a hug and then passed him back to Lily, who had stood up and was now watching with silent tears running down her cheeks.

Frank walked back over to Alice's body and kneeled next to her. He gently stroked her cheek and watched as a tear splashed down onto it. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers for the last time. "Goodbye, Alice," he said, standing up and reaching wordlessly for Neville. He walked to the door and turned around for one last look at her body. "I love you," he said as he shut the door behind him, leaning against it for support.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Remus and Sirius stood and ran after James almost as soon as he had left the kitchen. They ran out the front door, only to watch as he disapparated. Sirius stared at the spot James had disapparated from. He knew where James had gone. James was his best friend and he knew him better than anyone.

"Moony, stay here; I'm going after James," Sirius said, not even looking at Remus as he strode across the front lawn.

"But Padfoot…" Remus started. He didn't know how he wanted to finish that statement. How was Sirius going to find James? How did he think he would manage to get James to come back if he did find him? What good would it do for him to stay behind?

"Just trust me," Sirius said. He reached the end of the wards and gave Remus one last pleading look before he disapparated as well.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Lily left the living room shortly after Frank did. She didn't see him in the hallway, so she assumed he was in the kitchen with the other men. She decided that she didn't want to be with people at the moment, so she turned in the opposite direction and climbed the stairs to the second floor. She entered Harry's bedroom and found him awake in his crib.

"Mama!" Harry cried happily when he saw his mother enter the room. The simple word caused Lily to break down again. Here Harry was, happy to see his mother, and yet poor little Neville was just downstairs and would never see his mother again.

Lily picked Harry up and hugged him close. "Harry I promise your father and I will always be here for you," Lily said through her tears as she sat down in the rocking chair and began to rock Harry back and forth.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Remus returned to the kitchen, where he found Frank sitting on a stool with Neville in his lap.

"Where are James and Sirius?" Frank asked, wondering why his friend had abandoned him at this time.

"They'll be back," Remus said slowly, not wanting to reveal what had really happened.

"Did Dumbledore say anything about how it happened?" Frank asked. He needed some sort of explanation, some kind of reasoning for what had happened. Most of all, he needed someone to blame other than himself.

"You-Know-Who got through the Fidelius Charm and tried to use the Floo passage to get to your house, but it had shut down so it killed him and Alice got hit by the explosion," Remus explained.

Frank wondered about that. He couldn't understand how You-Know-Who had gotten in. The only way to get through the Fidelius Charm is to be told the location by the secret keeper – and Frank was positive Dumbledore hadn't told him where to go – or to be led into the house by the resident. Frank remembered that Alice had been missing that morning because James had been missing here. He felt his heart stop for a moment. He couldn't have. James wouldn't have led You-Know-Who right into his own house, would he? Frank looked at Remus with questioning eyes and Remus knew that Frank had figured out what had happened.

"He didn't know what he was doing," Remus said. "He feels horrible about what he's done."

Frank knew that James was a little reckless and a little restless. It wouldn't have taken much to get him out of the house. Surely he wouldn't have led You-Know-Who right into the very house his own son was in knowingly. If anyone was to blame, it was You-Know-Who himself. He was the one who tried to use a shut down Floo passage, and being an evil Lord, it was quite easy to blame it all on him.

"Where is he now?" Frank asked. He needed James for a few reasons. For one, he wanted to assure James that he didn't blame him at all. For another, Frank didn't think he could bear to see Alice's lifeless form one more time and he needed James to help him with funeral arrangements.

"He disapparated," Remus said, looking down at the table.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Dumbledore looked down at the arm before him. On it, there was a faded Dark Mark. In contrast to the pitch black it had been the last time he had seen it, it was now a pale grey. Despite the obvious fading of the mark, Dumbledore was troubled. For the mark to still be there at all meant that Voldemort was not yet gone. Somewhere, somehow, Voldemort was still alive, if only in the weakest and lowliest of forms imaginable.

"What does it mean?" Snape asked, pulling his arm back from the older man. "Is he gone?"

Dumbledore studied Severus' eyes for a moment and then replied. "No. He is still alive, but he no longer has any power. I do not even believe he is still human," Dumbledore replied solemnly.

Though on the inside, Snape was glad that his Lord was not dead, he kept up the charade. "What can we do?" he asked.

"For the time being, he is gone. But he will return, of that I am certain. When he does, we must ensure that Neville Longbottom is protected and that he can grow to his full potential," Dumbledore replied.

"But Professor, why only the Longbottom? What about Potter?" Snape asked. Up until now, they had been protecting both the Potter boy and the Longbottom boy as they were unsure who the prophecy referred to.

"Harry will be perfectly safe without our help. He should not be a threat to Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore replied.

"But why?" Snape asked. How could Dumbledore be so sure?

Dumbledore once again made eye contact with the former Death Eater. As before, he could not penetrate the man's Occlumency. As Dumbledore couldn't be certain the man wasn't hiding anything from him, he chose not to divulge everything to him. "I believe you have a classroom to organize," Dumbledore said, a clear dismissal.

Frustrated, but trying his best to play the part, Snape nodded and rose, leaving the room. If the Dark Lord was out there somewhere, human or not, Snape would find him and bring him back. He was sure he could do it, and then, when the Dark Lord had killed everybody who opposed him, including James Potter, Snape would finally have what he had always wanted. He would have Lily, just as the Dark Lord had promised him.

Back in his office, as the door shut and Dumbledore was left alone, he repeated the prophecy to himself in his head. _"… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…_" Dumbledore whispered to himself.

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**So how was that? Questions? Comments? Review! Where is James? Will Sirius get him to come back? How will Lily react when she finds out? How will Frank cope with everything? What's Snape going to do now? I won't answer all of these questions in the next chapter, but everything will reveal itself in due time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright everyone, here is chapter 11. This chapter is similar to the last few chapters in that it picks up right where the last chapter left off. There is no time gap between chapters 10 and 11. Hmm... I think that's all I wanted to say for now.**

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Chapter 11: Falling to Pieces

When Sirius arrived at the graveyard, it didn't take long to find him. James was on his knees in front of his parents' headstone and even from the distance, Sirius could see that James was trembling. As he approached, he could hear that James was talking.

"…didn't mean… never think… so sorry… my fault… dragon pox…" Sirius was only able to distinguish a few of the words James was saying, but he could tell from them that James still felt responsible for his parents' death.

Three years ago, James' parents had died from dragon pox. James was about to propose to Lily and he asked his father, Harold, to come to his office one afternoon for advice. Harold hadn't been to the Ministry for some time as he was retired and he was getting quite old. James had written out instructions on a piece of paper so that Harold would find his office. Unfortunately, since James was so distracted and nervous about asking Lily to marry him, he accidentally got left and right confused and instead of coming to James' office, his father walked right into a room of quarantined aurors who had caught dragon pox. Harold became extremely confused and apparated home, where he proceeded to infect his wife, Mary. They both died shortly afterwards as dragon pox is fatal to the elderly. James blamed himself for this, as he was the one who gave confused directions.

Sirius had finally reached James and he knelt on the grass beside his best friend. James knew he was there, but he didn't acknowledge Sirius' presence at all.

"James?" Sirius asked tentatively. When James didn't respond, Sirius continued. "It's not your fault, you didn't do anything intentionally."

James jerked his tear-stained face towards his friend. "But I killed them. I killed them all. I killed my parents and now I've killed Alice," he said.

"You didn't actually kill them, and it's not like you wanted them to die," Sirius said. He somehow had to convince James that he wasn't at fault.

"They're dead because of my carelessness. It's my fault," James said, burying his face in his hands.

Sirius decided to try a new path, because clearly this one wasn't very effective. "What about Harry and your unborn child? You need to go back, be there for them. Do you want them to grow up fatherless?" Sirius asked.

"Better they grow up fatherless than not grow up at all," James replied.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, confused.

"What if the next time I do something careless, it costs the life of one of my children? I contributed to Alice's death, but I didn't even know it. I led my father to his death and I didn't even realize. I won't let my children be the victims of my accidental slip ups. I don't deserve to be a father," James said.

Sirius could see that James wasn't kidding around. He actually thought his family would be better off without him.

"James, Harry loves you, Lily loves you, and the new baby is going to love you. By leaving, you're hurting all of them, and worst of all, you're hurting yourself. You can't just leave, where are you going to go? You'll spend your whole life wishing you could be with them," Sirius said.

James looked up at Sirius, his eyes still swimming with tears, and Sirius could see he had gotten through somehow. If anything, this was a start.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"What do you mean James left?" Lily screamed when Remus told her what had happened.

"He disapparated," Remus clarified, trying to look anywhere but at Lily's face.

"How… Why… Where… What… Why?" Lily asked, hurt and confusion in her voice.

"He'll be back, I'm sure of it. Sirius went to get him," Remus said.

Just then, they heard the front door slowly creak open and then shut. There was a series of slow and quiet footsteps and then James entered the room.

"James Potter, what is the meaning of this?" Lily cried, angrier than James had ever seen her. She even seemed angrier than this morning when he had returned from his night out. "How could you even think, just for a moment, that you would leave me? And what about Harry? What about the baby? I can't handle it all on my own. I can't do it all on my own. I need you. Don't ever leave me again, just don't." At this point, Lily was sobbing and clutching James fiercely.

"Lily, I promise you, I will never leave you again. Sirius made me realize I never could," James said, turning to look at his friend who was leaning against the doorframe, a grin on his face.

"You'd better not," Lily said, her voice hard again. She pulled away and James could see a frown on her face. There was a cry from upstairs, Harry had apparently gotten bored of napping. "James, could you go check on Harry?" Lily asked. "I don't want to walk up those stairs again." Lily leaned against the counter and sighed, exhaustion now evident in her face.

"Sure," James said. He left the room and climbed the stairs towards Harry's room. When he arrived at the doorway though, he froze. He could see Harry sitting in his crib only a short way away and James was paralyzed with fear. What if he did something wrong? He could hurt Harry, he didn't want to ruin his son's life. He shouldn't be anywhere near children, what was he doing back here? Harry began to cry again, and James knew he needed to go inside and calm Harry down, but he couldn't bring himself to enter the room.

There was the sound of a door opening from behind him and James whirled around. Frank was coming out of the bathroom, Neville in one arm and his baby bag in the other.

"James, you're back!" Frank said.

"Yeah, I guess I am," James replied. Harry continued to cry in the background.

"Aren't you going to get Harry?" Frank asked when James continued to stand still.

"I can't," James said, looking down at the ground.

"James, I just want you to know that I don't blame you for what happened one bit," Frank said, patting James' shoulder awkwardly as he still had a bag hanging from his arm.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't be the one acting like this. Shouldn't I be comforting you?" James asked. Instead of answering, Frank handed Neville over to James before James had a chance to reject the baby. Then Frank walked over to where Harry was and picked him up. As soon as he was in Frank's arms, Harry's crying came to a stop. All he wanted was a little attention. Frank carried Harry back out to James and held him out to the other man.

"Look at Harry," Frank said. "Is he blaming you? Is he angry with you? No, he just loves you."

"But I could hurt him," James said obstinately.

"You're holding Neville right now, are you hurting him?" Frank asked.

James sighed. "No, but something could happen in the future," he said.

Now it was Frank's turn to sigh. "And sometime in the future, that ridiculous politician who wears the lime green bowler hat… what's his name? Fudge, I think. He could become the Minister for Magic, but we both know that's not going to happen," Frank said, laughing at the ridiculousness of the notion.

"But what if something I do out of carelessness eventually causes Harry to get hurt?" James asked, still sounding distressed.

"What if he falls off his broomstick while playing Quidditch at Hogwarts and breaks his arm and you have nothing to do with it?" Frank countered.

"What if I bought him the broomstick he fell from?" James asked.

Frank sighed an exasperated sigh. "You're not a bad father for buying your son a broomstick, James. You buying him a broom will not change whether or not Harry falls off of it. If you don't buy him a broom, he'll fly a school broom, or borrow Neville's broom."

James was silent for a moment and tensed, but then he visibly relaxed. "I guess you're right," he said. Reaching for Harry and handing Neville back to Frank.

"James, I need to take Neville home and start figuring out what I'm going to do. Do you think you can…" Frank trailed off, unable to even think about how he had intended to end that sentence. "The living room," he said.

James understood what his friend was trying to say and said he'd take care of everything. Frank thanked him and left.

When Frank arrived on Elm Street, he stood, staring at the house for a moment before walking towards it. He walked up the front steps and tentatively swung the front door open. As he passed through the house, he kept his mind focused on Neville and tried to ignore everything else. He got to Neville's room and put him down for a nap. Then he left and crossed the hall to him own room. When he entered it, he almost lost it. This was his and Alice's room. It had belonged to both of them equally and now she would never come back to it again.

There was the bookshelf to his left that had all sorts of spellbooks and potions books and cookbooks piled in no specific order at all. Frank had always bugged Alice about organizing the bookshelf, but Alice never did, claiming she used the books so often they would be cluttered again within minutes. On his right, there was the closet. It was packed so full with Alice's clothes it was ridiculous. She still had her school robes from her first year in there. Frank had asked Alice many times to get rid of some of her clothes, but Alice wouldn't part with them. She thought she could pass them on to their daughter if they ever had a daughter.

Frank began to cry. They would never have a daughter. Alice could never have another child. He walked over to the bed and saw a piece of paper on his nightstand. He picked it up and read it over.

_Frank,_

_James disappeared. I'm going over there to wait with Lily. I'm taking Neville to let you sleep longer, I noticed you were restless last night. _

_Lots of love,_

_Alice_

He stared at the note long after he had finished reading it. It was the last thing Alice had left him. He ran his hand over the last part, which read _'lots of love, Alice'_.

"I love you too," Frank whispered to the paper before letting it fall to the floor while he himself fell to pieces, curled up in the fetal position and hugging Alice's pillow.

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**So, how'd you guys like the chapter? Any questions? Comments? Complaints? (Though I prefer the first two) Leave a review! Seriously, please leave a review. I love reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12

**So this chapter starts the morning after the previous chapter and then when it skips to Molly it's about a week later. It's August 11th, so I'd like to say Happy Birthday to Ginny! In honor of Ginny's birthday, Ginny is making her very first appearance in this story :) To the guest reviewer, this isn't a particularly happy chapter, but there are happier times coming. Sorry about the shortness, I'm trying to tie up a few loose ends. Also if the chapter is a little weird, my writing time was significantly diminished in the past few days, but I still wanted this out for Ginny's birthday. Anyway, I'll stop writing this now so you can read.**

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Chapter 12: Moving On

Snape looked down at the front page article in the morning's daily prophet.

**_HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED: GONE FOR GOOD?_**

_Shortly after sunrise yesterday morning, He Who Must Not Be Named was destroyed in an explosion. After penetrating the Fidelius Charm surrounding the residence of the Potters in Godric's Hollow, He Who Must Not Be Named attempted to use the Floo network to travel to an unknown location. An anonymous source divulged that there was a Floo passage active between the Potter's residence and another residence also under the Fidelius Charm. However, this passage shut down and when he tried to use it, He Who Must Not Be Named caused an explosion and seemingly perished, along with Alice Longbottom, who was presumably hit by the explosion as well._

_To read more about He Who Must Not Be Named and his demise, see page 2. To read more about Floo passages, see page 4. To read more about the Fidelius Charm, see page 5. To read more about Alice Longbottom, see page 6. Page 7: Celebrations Pose Threat to International Statute of Secrecy._

He shook his head. Everyone already seemed so relaxed and convinced that they were safe. Dedalus Diggle, he had heard, was shooting sparks into the air around his house. It would be so easy to find his house with the ruckus he was making; he didn't realize that there were still Death Eaters out here that were loyal to the Dark Lord.

Snape then sneered. Not all of the Death Eaters were still loyal. He had discovered only a short while ago that Lucius Malfoy intended to cooperate with the Ministry and was claiming the Imperius. Snape suspected that there was a large sum of money involved as well. There was always money when it came to Lucius. However, Snape did not intend to just give up. He knew the Lestranges were intending on searching for the Dark Lord themselves, but they no longer trusted Snape as he was pretending to be on Dumbledore's side. Snape would search on his own.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Oh Ginny, please stop crying," Molly Weasley pleaded. She was rocking Ginny in one arm while she tried to get Ron dressed with the other. Lily, James and Frank would be arriving any minute to drop off Harry and Neville and pick up Arthur for the funeral and Molly needed Ron to be ready to see his friends.

Despite Molly's plea, Ginny continued to wail. Ginny was still only a couple of weeks old, so Molly didn't want to take her out of the house. As a result, Arthur decided that Harry and Neville should come to play with Ron since Molly would be home anyway. Molly didn't think Arthur had realized how troublesome taking care of nine kids would be. Especially when Ginny and Neville still couldn't walk at all.

Molly heard a knock on the door downstairs and then she heard Arthur greeting Frank and James. She finished dressing Ron and led him down to the door, where he saw Harry and Neville and became extremely excited. Harry began squirming in his father's arms, so James put him down and Harry toddled over to where Ron stood. Neville began to squirm as well, but when Frank put him down, he crawled as he had yet to learn to walk.

"I'll see you later, Molly," Arthur said before he left. Molly offered a weak smile and watched as her husband shut the door.

"Mom! Fred stole my toy!" Molly heard Pecry holler from his bedroom a couple of floors above them. Molly sighed and closed her eyes as she leaned against the door. It was going to be a long day.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When the music began, Frank knew what was coming. He turned away so that he would not have to watch as his wife was carried up the aisle in her casket. He had resolved to stay strong. He would cry later, at home. He had been crying for the past week. For today, for this ceremony, he would stay strong and give his speech like a man. His last gift to Alice would be to make sure everyone remembered her for all her wonderful qualities.

All too soon, he felt himself being nudged by James and he realized that it was time. He shakily rose to his feet and mechanically walked to the podium on the raised platform. As he passed the casket, which had been laid in the center of the platform, he caught sight of his wife's face, appearing peaceful and almost happy. He felt tears stinging the back of his eyes but suppressed them. He reached the podium and found that his speech was waiting for him where he had asked James to leave it. He was afraid to forget what he wanted to say.

He looked down at the first words and opened his mouth to read them. When he looked back up and out at the crowd of people that had come to remember Alice, his words were caught in the back of his throat. He couldn't do this. He couldn't talk about Alice to all of these people. It wouldn't bring her back, it would only bring back memories. Memories he didn't want brought up. He couldn't handle the swell of emotions that rose up in him. Without thinking, he ran off the platform and through the graveyard to a large tree, where he sat down, pulled his knees up to his chest and let his tears fall freely.

0o0o0o0o0o0

As soon as the funeral was over, James and Sirius began to search for Frank. Remus stayed behind to direct everyone to the reception, which was to be held at Frank's mother's house. When they finally found Frank sitting by the tree, it seemed Frank had run out of tears.

"Are you alright?" James asked gently as they approached.

"I just… can't believe she's gone," Frank said. "I feel so empty."

Sirius crouched down so that he was eye level with Frank. "You know, the ones that love us never truly leave us. You'll always have Alice in your heart," Sirius said, placing one hand over Frank's heart.

Frank nodded and slowly stood up. "We should get to mother's house. She's probably worried sick about me.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When Frank finally got to the reception he had made up his mind. If he was going to move on from this state of depression, he needed to get away from everything that reminded him of Alice. He didn't want to forget her completely, but he wanted to feel less like an empty void and more like himself.

He looked for his mother, Augusta, though she wasn't really that hard to find. In honor of Alice's funeral, his mother had exchanged the stuffed vulture hat she usually wore for a stuffed raven, as it was black.

"Mom, can I talk to you for a second?" Frank asked.

"Of course, sweetheart," Augusta replied, pulling Frank over to the side of the room and surrounding him with a tight hug. "What is it?" she asked when he was free again.

"I can't live at home anymore, it reminds me too much of Alice. I'm also going to need some help raising Neville. I don't think I can do it on my own, so I was wondering if I could move back home," Frank said.

Augusta fought the tears that came upon seeing her son's heartache written all over his face. "Of course Frank, I'd love that," she replied.

0o0o0o0o0o0

From his tree hollow, Voldemort watched the forest. He would wait as long as he had to. He was certain his Death Eaters were already looking for him and as soon as they had found him, they could return him to his real body and then he could destroy the Longbottom boy for good. He couldn't believe he had been fooled by the Floo passage. Of course, Dumbledore would have added a shut down ward to stop him from using it, he just didn't think of it at the time.

He knew it would probably take a while for his Death Eaters to find him all the way out here in Albania, but he was confident they would eventually find him.

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**And there you go. Please please please pretty please leave a review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**So this chapter takes place in the beginning-ish of September. It's been a bit over a week since the funeral. Just a note for the curious: Bill is ten, Charlie is eight, Percy is five, Fred and George are three, Ron is eighteen months, Harry and Neville are thirteen months and Ginny is barely a month old. Apart from that, not much to say other than... enjoy!**

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Chapter 13: Goodbye

"Alright Neville, say goodbye to your room," Frank instructed as he picked Neville up out of his crib.

"Baa!" Neville said happily, bouncing in his father's arms. Frank was moving to his mother's house and this would be the last time Neville saw this house. Frank picked up Neville's bag from the chair it was sitting on and then walked down the stairs to the living room.

After Dumbledore had lifted the Fidelius Charm and the wards hiding his house from the world, he had inquired about his missing fireplace. Apparently when Voldemort tried to Floo here, the fireplace had disappeared to block him. Dumbledore had done some sort of spell that had returned the fireplace to his living room.

Frank stepped carefully into the fireplace and threw the Floo powder down. "The Burrow!" he cried as he tucked Neville's head into his shoulder.

When he arrived, he stumbled out of the fireplace, brushing soot off of Neville's head. He saw that he was alone in the Weasley's living room, but he could hear voices coming from other parts of the house.

"Charlie, get that thing away from me!" someone cried from above.

"Muuuum, Percy's bullying me!" another voice said.

"Am not! Fred won't listen to me, Mum!" someone, presumably Percy, said.

Frank heard something behind him, and turned to find Lily coming out of the fireplace with Harry. She was shortly followed by James and then Sirius and then Remus.

"Oh good, Frank's here," Remus said as he climbed out of the fireplace. "Well, let's get going."

"Molly! Arthur!" Sirius cried. Moments later, a frazzled looking Arthur Weasley entered the kitchen followed by Molly, Ginny, Fred and Bill. Ginny was in Molly's arms while Fred was attached to her leg, wailing. Bill was following behind his mother.

"Bill, take Fred upstairs and play with him and George for a few hours," Molly was telling her eldest son.

"Do I have to?" Bill whined.

"Yes, you do," Molly said strictly.

"Fine," Bill huffed. He pulled Fred off of Molly's leg and began to drag him out of the kitchen.

"And Bill, be nice," Molly pleaded as her two sons left the room.

"Bad timing?" James joked. Sirius grinned and Molly smiled weakly.

"Well, you best be on your way," Molly said. "Ron! Your friends are here to see you!"

A series of strange noises could be heard from the next room and Ron toddled in. "Hawee! Nevee!" Ron cried when he saw his friends.

"Won!" Harry cried from his mother's arms. Lily put Harry down on the floor and he went to join his friend.

"Eeeeee!" Neville screamed, still not able to say words. Frank knew that he too wanted to play with his friends, so he placed him gently on the floor and Neville slowly crawled over to Ron and Harry.

"Be good, Neville," Frank instructed. Neville didn't respond, but Frank didn't really mind. He thanked Molly and headed to the fireplace again. "It shouldn't take longer than a couple of hours," he said before he disappeared into the Floo Network. James, Sirius, Remus and Arthur followed him and Lily and Molly were left on their own.

"Poor Frank," Lily said sadly, staring at the now empty fireplace. Without Alice, Frank was unable to cope with living in their house any longer. The men were helping Frank move out of his house and back in with his mother.

"Charlie! Mum said to put that away!" someone suddenly screamed from upstairs.

Molly sighed and shut her eyes as if to make life disappear. "Can you watch the boys alone for a moment?" she asked. Molly didn't even wait for a response before she dashed away to deal with Charlie.

Alone in the kitchen, Lily watched as the three boys rolled around on the floor. She watched Neville struggle to keep up with the other two boys as they wandered around. Neville tried and tried to walk and yet he couldn't manage it. He couldn't really talk either; he could only make unintelligible noises. How Neville could be destined to defeat Voldemort, Lily couldn't understand. Dumbledore had said that he didn't think Voldemort was gone for good, and he also said that Neville would be the one to defeat him, but Lily didn't think he was right. Harry could already walk and talk. Neville was just a lump.

Neville bumped his head and began to cry. Lily picked him up and began rocking him in her arms. Shouldn't Neville be a little more developed at this stage, she thought. Harry seemed much more developed than Neville. Of course, Lily realized she didn't want Harry to be the prophesied child. She wanted Harry to stay at home, safe and sound. But somehow, she just couldn't picture Neville saving the world when he had yet to learn to walk.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Charlie, what did I tell you about the stick? It's not a wand, and you cannot play with it in the house," Molly told her son. Charlie had found a stick in the yard and he now thought he owned a wand. He liked to brandish it in his brother's faces and yell incantations he had heard his parents using, but the most that ever happened was that he would hit his brother in the face with it.

"But I wanna be a wizard NOW!" Charlie whined when Molly took the stick away from him.

"You are a wizard Charlie, but you can't use a wand for another three years," Molly said.

"But WHYYYYYYYY?" Charlie asked, still whining.

"It's the law," Molly said. "I don't make the rules, but you still have to follow them. Now please help Bill entertain Fred and George for a little while, and be nice," Molly instructed.

"Can't Percy do it?" Charlie asked.

"No, Percy's having a time out right now," Molly said.

This made Charlie very happy. "Ok!" he said running out the door. Molly sighed. She knew Charlie was going to tease Percy rather than help Bill with the twins, but she didn't have time to worry about that right now. Ginny started to cry and Molly could smell that she needed to be changed. She carried her up one more flight of stairs and laid her down on the table.

As she changed Ginny, she thought about Lily down in the kitchen. Soon Lily would be having her baby and then Ginny would have a friend too. Molly hoped Lily would have a girl, because then Ginny wouldn't be alone in a world of boys. She already had six older brothers to deal with. Lily refused to do the spell to find out which gender her baby would be, though. She wanted it to be a surprise. Molly didn't really understand, but she supposed it was a Muggle thing and since Lily was a Muggle-born, sometimes she liked to do things the Muggle way.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Well, that's the last of it," Frank said as they placed the last book on his bookshelf in his new/old room. He was moving back into the room he had occupied as a child and Neville was going to be in the room next to him.

"I'm exhausted," Sirius said, collapsing into a chair. They had had to shrink all of Frank's belongings and then they had to pick them all up and apparated to Augusta Longbottom's house. Then when they got to Frank's room, they had had to return everything to normal size and organize.

"Imagine if we had had to do that the Muggle way," Arthur said. "We would have had to carry all the heavy furniture out of the house and into a truck and then we would have had to drive all the way here and brought it all back into this house. That would have been much more tiring." Arthur had been talking about Muggles all day, and it was getting a little annoying, but nobody said anything about it, because Arthur had also been the hardest worker.

"Well, I guess we'd better go back," James said.

"You guys go, I just have one last stop I need to make," Frank said.

The other men agreed and apparated back to the Burrow while Frank apparated back to his empty house. He walked through the rooms and up the stairs until he was back in what had been his and Alice's bedroom. He looked around and allowed one tear to slip down his face.

"It's time to move on," he said out loud. "Goodbye Alice, I love you." He stood there for a few minutes longer and then he turned and shut the door for good. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself and then he apparated to the Burrow to get Neville.

* * *

**So again, this one is a little shorter than I'd like, but I didn't want to go any further than I did here and I didn't want to put meaningless words in the middle, so this is it. Hope you guys like it. If you do, let me know in a review please :) If you don't, let me know in a friendly review what I should be fixing :) Also, I am 99.9% sure that baby Potter will be born in chapter 15(!), so this is your 2nd-to-last chance to give ideas. Of course, I've already basically decided on my course of action, but who knows? My mind may yet be changed. And with that I bid you goodnight. But please... review before you leave!**


	14. Chapter 14

**So this chapter covers the next four months - all the way up to Christmas. It's kind of like snapshots of what's going on with Neville. I've written in the date above each section to make it easier to understand hopefully. A bit of it's filler, but I wanted to include these little bits and this seemed like the best way to do it. If you hate it, let me know in a friendly way. If you like it, let me know in a friendly way :) **

* * *

Chapter 14: Settling In

**September 11****th**

"You're sure you'll be alright with Neville on your own?" Frank asked his mother as he pulled his cloak on over his robes.

"Of course I'm sure, it's only going to be for the day," Augusta replied.

"Alright, Floo call me if anything goes wrong, and I'll come straight home," Frank instructed, now heading for the door.

"Nothing's going to go wrong," Augusta reassured her son. "Now get to work."

Frank nodded and said goodbye before stepping out the door and apparating to the Ministry. It was his first day back at work in over a year – ever since he went into hiding. He was nervous to leave Neville for so long, but he knew his mother was more than capable of looking after him. He took a deep breath and headed towards the lifts that would take him to the Auror Headquarters.

When he arrived in the office, he headed to the Head of the Auror department, Rufus Scrimgeour's office.

"Longbottom, welcome back," Scrimgeour said when Frank came through the door. "How are you doing?"

"As well as can be expected, Sir," Frank replied.

"I expect you'll be wanting your assignment?" Scrimgeour asked.

"Yes Sir," Frank replied.

"Let's see," Scrimgeour said as he shuffled through some papers on his desk. "You'll be partnered with Harris, he's a new recruit, so you'll have to train him up a bit. Here is your assignment. You can have your old cubicle back, everything should be where you left it." Scrimgeour passed Frank a folder with his assignment in it and Frank left the office. He walked the familiar path to his cubicle and placed the folder on his desk. It would be his first assignment without Alice. He remembered when they joined, there were so many new recruits, they had to partner them together from the very beginning. Frank had never worked with anyone but Alice, until today.

He stood and leaned over the separator to talk to the man next to him. "Any idea where I could find Auror Harris?" Frank asked the man.

He looked up. "That's me, I'm Simon Harris," he said, standing up to shake Frank's hand.

"I'm Frank. Frank Longbottom. Looks like we're going to be partners," Frank said, taking the man's hand.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**September 26****th**

"Mother, it's my first long-term assignment. I'm worried about Neville," Frank said to Augusta as he dressed Neville for bed.

"He'll be fine, Frank, don't worry so much. I'll take care of him, don't you worry," Augusta replied from the other side of the room, where she was cleaning up some toys Neville had been playing with.

"I just don't want anything to happen to him while I'm gone," Frank said while he watched Neville blowing raspberries into the air.

"You need to worry a bit more about yourself, Frank. I don't want anything to happen to you when you're out chasing Death Eaters," Augusta replied.

"Dada!" Neville said suddenly. Frank and Augusta both turned towards Neville with incredulous looks on their faces.

"Did he just…?" Frank asked, still staring at Neville in wonder.

"Dada, Gama!" Neville cried. Frank felt his eyes well up and he picked Neville up in a crushing hug.

"He said my name!" Frank said through his tears of joy. "He can talk!"

Augusta had to admit to herself, she was worried something was wrong with Neville when he never learned to talk, but it seemed now that he was just a late bloomer. And he had said 'grandma'. A rare smile appeared on her face.

"That's great Neville, good job," she said.

"Gama, Dada, Dada, Gama!" Neville shouted gleefully. He loved the attention these two words were getting him.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**October 8****th**

"How'd it go?" Augusta asked her son when he returned home from his assignment.

"We got all three Lestranges, but the fourth man got away. We didn't get a chance to I.D. him," Frank replied. "How's Neville?"

Before Augusta could answer, Neville toddled into the room on his two feet. "Hi Dada!" he said.

"Neville can walk?" Frank cried, his eyes popping open.

"He figured it out a couple days after you left," Augusta replied.

"Hi Neville," Frank said, picking Neville up in a hug. "I wish I could have been here."

"You didn't get hurt at all while you were away, did you?" Augusta asked.

For a moment, Frank flashed back to the day they caught up with the Death Eaters. Bellatrix had had him on the ground with the Cruciatus until Harris had stopped her. It had been the second most painful experience of his life. As he remembered the pain, his face contorted for a second, but he resumed his normal expression quickly.

"No, I'm fine," Frank lied. Augusta didn't need to know the details and the truth was that he was fine now. Fortunately, she had missed the pained expression on his face moments ago as she had been watching Neville.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**October 31****st**

Are you ready for Halloween, Neville?" Augusta asked as she dressed Neville in his costume. He was dressed as a toad as for some reason, Neville loved toads. He even slept with a stuffed toad.

"Yay!" Neville cried. "Candy!"

When Augusta had explained the concept of Halloween to Neville, he had become extremely excited at the prospect of free candy.

"Alright, let's go meet your friends," Augusta said when Neville was ready. She took Neville down to the fireplace and they flooed to the Potter's where they were meeting Harry and Ron to go trick-or-treating.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**November 15****th**

"Snack!" Neville said determinedly to his grandmother. Harry and Ron had come over to play and all three of the boys were hungry.

Augusta sighed from the rocking chair she had been sitting in and headed to the kitchen to grab them a snack. When they had finished, she suggested they go to the park nearby.

"Yay!" Neville cried, he turned to his friends. "Park!"

"Slide!" Ron said, while Harry said, "Play!"

Augusta smiled and led them out of the house. They walked down the street and then the boys ran off to play in the playground. Augusta sat down on the bench and watched them. Ron was already going down the slide, while Harry and Neville were attempting to climb up the steps. Neville had come a long way in the past little while. He hadn't been able to walk at all, and all of a sudden he was able to climb.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**December 18****th**

Frank wandered through Diagon Alley, looking for a Christmas gift for Neville. He couldn't decide what he wanted to get, but he wanted it to be the best gift ever. Suddenly, he ran into Sirius, who was coming out of _Quality Quidditch Supplies._

"Hi Sirius, what's up?" Frank asked casually.

"Just doing some Christmas shopping for Harry. I got him a baby Quidditch jersey to go with his toy broom," Sirius replied.

"That's great," Frank replied.

"What're you up to?" Sirius asked.

"Shopping for Neville," Frank replied.

"You should get him a broom," Sirius replied, a grin spreading over his face. He knew Augusta wouldn't like that one bit.

"You know what? I think I just figured out what I'm going to get him, thanks Sirius," Frank said, waving as he walked down the Alley.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**December 25****th**

"Happy Christmas Neville!" Frank said when he was woken up extremely early by his son jumping on his bed.

"Dada, dada, dada, dada, Ki-mas!" Neville cried.

"Just give me a second, Neville," Frank said as he rolled out of bed and pulled his robe on. Neville waited on the bed and when his father was finally ready, they headed downstairs to the tree and the pile of presents.

Augusta was already downstairs, preparing breakfast, but when she heard her son and her grandson, she moved into the living room to watch Neville open his presents.

Neville had already grabbed the gift from his father and had ripped the paper off of the box. He opened the box and pulled out the fabric that was inside of it. He turned to his father questioningly.

"It's your mother's first Quidditch jersey. She never made the house team, but she liked to play. Here's your second present," Frank walked over to the closet and pulled out a toy broom, just as Sirius had suggested. Augusta hadn't been very happy about it when he told her what he had planned, but she had eventually agreed to let him get it.

Neville grabbed the broom and tried to get on it, but Frank grabbed it back. "Hold on Neville, just a second," he said. He took the jersey and pulled it over Neville's head. It was too big, of course, as Alice was five when she got it, but he tied it at the waist. Then he held the broom out for Neville and carefully helped him on to it. Neville grabbed the broom handle and the broom shot away and he crashed straight into the wall. He fell onto the floor and began to cry.

"See, Frank, this is why I didn't want Neville to have a broom. This is why I never let you get a broom when you were growing up," Augusta said.

Frank sighed. He didn't want Neville to get hurt again, so he took the broom away and put it back in the closet. "Sorry Neville, no broom," Frank said. He looked at the jersey on Neville and sighed. Alice would have wanted him to try flying once at least, Frank supposed. Now he had.

* * *

**Alright, there you go. The next chapter will include the birth of baby Potter, which means... last chance to give me your input! Yep, so that's all I've got to say which means it is now your turn to say something... in a review! Go!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Alright, so it is now January 4****th**** and it is finally time for the birth of baby Potter! Special thanks to KitKatlover7, Heinz-Lee, Faithacad, Marvey4, FreezinWinter and BesideMoonlight for making baby suggestions. Also, the internet at my house is not working right now, and until it's working I have to go to Tim Hortons to get it, which happens to be where I am right now, so I won't be able to see/reply to reviews as frequently as I have and I won't be able to post another chapter, probably until the internet returns. Since the internet isn't working at my house, when I wrote this chapter I didn't have resources to look things up, and since I have never been pregnant or in labour, I have zero clue how that was supposed to happen, but I did my best with the little bit of knowledge I have and my imagination. Also, I would have liked to re-read the St. Mungo's part of Order of the Pheonix before writing this chapter to make sure it's accurate, but unfortunately I brought my books with my on vacation, but then I flew home earlier than intended and the books didn't all fit in my suitcase L. So bear with me and let me know if there's anything you think really sucks, but let me know in a friendly way please! Anyway, I think I've said enough, here's the actual chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 15: The Birth of Baby Potter

"James, have you seen my wand?" Lily called from the kitchen. She was trying to prepare lunch for Harry and Neville, who had come over for the afternoon while Frank was at work and Augusta was having a meeting with some of goblins, as well as a couple ministry officials at Gringotts about her will. Though she was perfectly healthy, physically, Alice's sudden death had caused her to rethink a few things.

"No, don't you have it?" James called back from the bedroom upstairs, where he was frantically trying to find some paperwork he had brought home with him the night before. He was already late for work and now he was going to be even later because he couldn't find the paperwork. "Where's the last place you s…" James was cut off by a scream coming from Harry's room and he appeared in the doorway in seconds.

Harry was sitting on the floor, Lily's wand raised in his hand, and Neville was bobbing around the room in midair. Occasionally, Neville banged into a wall or hit his head on the ceiling, and each time it brought on a fresh scream and wave of tears.

James grabbed the wand out of Harry's hand and using his own, cried "Finite Incantatem!" Neville was lowered to the ground just as Lily reached the room. She ran over to Neville and picked him up to comfort him.

"I think I found your wand," James said, handing it back to his wife.

"Thanks," Lily said. Then she turned to her son on the floor. "Now Harry, what did we say about stealing mommy's wand?" Lily asked as strictly as she could with Neville now making faces at her from the cradle her arms had created.

"No-no, bad," Harry said, his smile turning to a frown. He knew he was in trouble.

"That's right, and what happens when you make a no-no?" Lily asked.

"No play," Harry said sadly, bowing his head in what could almost be viewed as shame.

"That's right," Lily said. "Now… Ahhh!" she cried out, placing a hand on her stomach as she winced in pain. Something had shifted inside of her and she was worried. The baby wasn't due for another two weeks, so what was going on right now? She passed Neville over to James and leaned against the dresser she was standing next to. Another wave of pain overcame her and she began to breathe deeply to get through it.

"James, something's wrong," she said breathlessly when the pain had gone again. "I think we need to go to St. Mungo's."

"Do you think the baby's…" James trailed off, searching his wife's face for an answer.

"I don't know, I just know something's wrong," Lily said.

"Ok, I'll Floo Sirius and then we'll go," James said, running down to the living room. He still had Neville, but Harry remained in his room with Lily, who was now bent over on the floor with another wave of pain. When it was over, Lily pulled herself up and using all her strength, picked up Harry and placed him in his crib. Then she began to make her way to the living room, pausing every so often as she felt another wave of pain engulf her.

When she reached the living room, Sirius was stepping out of the fireplace, ready to watch Neville and Harry as long as he was needed to. James ran over to her and grabbed her around the waist to help support her. They made their way to the fireplace and quickly Flooed to St. Mungo's while Sirius ran upstairs to find Harry.

As soon as they emerged from the fireplace, a medi-witch greeted them and upon seeing Lily's condition, had summoned a wheelchair for her and began to wheel her to the birthing ward. James followed along behind, though at the moment was feeling pretty useless. When they arrived in the correct ward, the medi-witch quickly consulted a piece of parchment and then led them to an empty room, where she helped Lily into a bed. Only then did she begin to ask questions.

What's your name? Who's your family Healer? When did the pains begin? Has your water broke yet? How far apart are the pains? When are you supposed to be due? When's the last time you had anything to eat or drink? Did you do anything physically exerting recently? What were you doing when the pains started? The questions went on and on, and then finally, the medi-witch left to fetch the Healer.

James settled himself on a stool next to Lily's bed and his hand found hers. "It's going to be alright, Lily," James said. He pushed her hair out of her face lovingly and then she was hit with another wave of pain. She began to squeeze his hand harder and harder and harder until he was sure he would never regain circulation in it ever again and then she let up, the wave was over.

Just as Lily was recovering from this last wave of pain, their Healer, Healer Piper, entered and took charge. She began casting spells with her wand and strange bands of color were appearing above Lily's weak form that meant nothing to either James or Lily, but apparently meant plenty to the Healer.

"Mmm hmm… Ah… Interesting… Hmmm…" This was all the Healer said for some time, which left James and Lily curious and confused. At the very least, it seemed Lily's pains had stopped. Finally, the Healer addressed them. "It seems the baby has decided today is the day. For now I've put a freezing charm on the placenta, which stops it from moving and also stops the contractions, but as soon as I take it off, that baby's coming out," the Healer said. "I can give you a pain-numbing potion before we begin, if you'd like, or we can begin now."

"I'd like the potion please," Lily said. She remembered when she gave birth to Harry. There had been no potion option then and the pain had been extreme. She wanted to take anything she could now to reduce that pain.

The Healer summoned the potion from a cupboard and measured out the correct amount. She then handed it to Lily, who gulped it down as if it was water, though in reality, it tasted worse than Skele-Gro, which Lily had had the misfortune of tasting once during her time at Hogwarts.

When it had taken effect, the Healer prepared her and then removed the freezing charm. Now, Lily could feel movement inside of her, but it felt more uncomfortable than painful. In fact, it even tickled a little. The Healer performed a spell to allow adequate room for the baby to get out and then performed another spell that made Lily's muscles contract and push the baby out. Throughout the whole thing, Lily could barely feel a thing.

She felt strange though, now. She felt exhausted, and it was almost as though someone was forcing her eyelids down and in a moment, she was asleep. The last thing she heard before she submitted to the sleep was the beautiful scream of her baby as it came into this world.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When Lily awoke, she found that James and the Healer were both still there, but her baby was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" Lily asked groggily.

"It was a side-effect of the potion. Though you couldn't feel it, your body went through some extreme physical exertion to get the baby out. After all the effort it went through, it was tired, but your mind didn't know because you couldn't feel it, so the potion makes you go to sleep to give your body a chance to rest," the Healer explained.

"What about my baby?" Lily asked. "Is the baby okay?" She was worried again now, because the baby had come earlier than it was supposed to.

"Your baby is perfectly healthy. She is just in the next room, Healer Maddison is cleaning her up and running a few standard tests," Healer Piper replied.

"She?" Lily asked, a smile appearing on her face.

"We have a daughter," James confirmed, squeezing Lily's hand gently with a smile on his face too.

"I want to see her," Lily said with a determined look.

"I'll go see how Healer Maddison is doing," Healer Piper said, getting up and exiting the room.

When they were left alone, James leaned over and placed a kiss on Lily's lips. "Congratulations, you did it," he said, still smiling.

"Thank you," Lily said, leaning her head against James' hand. "I love you."

"I love you too," James replied, brushing some hair out of Lily's face. The door to their room opened again, and Healer Piper entered slowly, something wrapped in her arms.

"Here she is," Healer Piper said, walking over to Lily's side and lowering the baby into her waiting arms.

The baby was wrapped in layers of blankets, but Lily only had to push them away a bit to uncover her face. She was the tiniest thing Lily had ever seen. Where Harry had had a head the size of a Quaffle, her new daughter was small and delicate. One of her hands was freed from the confines of the blanket and Lily wrapped her own hand around her daughter's. The baby's tiny hands were smaller than even a snitch, which was designed to be tiny. Her fingers were barely longer than one of Lily's fingernails.

When Lily had first met Harry, he had been wailing like a banshee. The new baby lay silently in peaceful slumber, the corners of her lips turned up in a faint smile.

"What should we name her?" Lily asked, looking up into James' face. Lily had chosen Harry's name, so she felt that James deserved to choose this baby's name.

"I… I think we should name her Alice. Alice Lily," James replied.

Lily felt tears prickle behind her eyes. "I think that's perfect," Lily said smiling with her damp eyes back down at her beautiful daughter. "Alice Lily Potter."

* * *

**So there you all go! The most anticipated chapter is over! I'd like to give a huge thank you to KitKatlover7 for originally giving me the idea to name her Alice. I'd like to give another huge thank you to Heinz-Lee for originally giving me the idea to give her the middle name Lily. Also, big thanks to FreezinWinter and BesideMoonlight for reinforcing that these were good choices by suggesting them themselves. All the name suggestions were awesome, but I thought Alice Lily was the way to go. Please leave a review, let me know what you thought of the chapter and the names. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright, so first of all, on Monday school started for me again (sigh), which probably means my updates will not be as regular as they have been throughout the summer. I will try to update as often as I can though, so hopefully they won't be too far apart. Also, my internet's back on, so that's great and my books have been returned to me, which is greater! It felt so good to open my bag and find all my harry potter books stacked in it. As for the chapter, I feel that I have pretty much covered everything I wanted to cover in what we'll call the 'first section', as in, the first 15 chapters were intended to make a foundation for the rest of the story. I'm pretty sure I tied up all the loose ends from that, but let me know if there's any I didn't and I will try and work something in. So now we will be travelling nine and a half-ish years into the future. It's August and Neville has just turned eleven (you all know what that means!). For those of you who are worried about the nine+ years I have decided to skip, nothing of consequence happened, and anything I think is noteworthy from those years I will include in some fashion. For the most part, we are skipping over Neville's fairly uneventful childhood, which would be very boring for me to spend ten+ chapters writing. Lastly, remember when I said we would stop with all the jumping around perspectives and sticking with Neville soon? That pretty much starts now. Everything (for the most part) will be in Neville's point of view, though still third person. There will still be the occasional switch to say Voldemort or Snape or Dumbledore, but those will become much less frequent as I really want the story to follow Neville. Anyway, I think this note is sufficiently long, so I will just let you read the chapter now.**

* * *

Chapter 16: Waiting

_Neville,_

_I GOT MY LETTER! It just came this morning, so yours will probably already have arrived when you read this. Mum wants me to ask when your grandmother wants to go to Diagon Alley so that we can go together. I think she sent an owl to Ron's mum too, so we could all go together. Let me know soon, I can't wait to go to Hogwarts._

_Harry_

Neville had been staring at this letter for almost fifteen minutes. When Kirley, the Potter's barn owl appeared at his bedroom window, he hadn't recognized him and he had thought he was finally receiving his Hogwarts letter, but still it hadn't come. Yesterday, Neville had been over at Ron's house and Ron had received his letter and now Harry had his.

Neville began to worry that maybe his letter wasn't coming. He wasn't particularly good at flying like Harry and Ron, though the only time he ever had to practice was when he, Harry and Ron snuck some of Ron's older brother's brooms from the broom shed and flew on those. None of them were really supposed to be flying anything other than their toy brooms until they had received proper flying lessons at school, but toy brooms didn't get higher than about three feet off the ground, and where's the fun in that?

Neville also wasn't particularly magical the way that Harry and Ron were. Harry and Ron had had magic bursting out of them since they were four or five, and it wasn't strange for things to change colors randomly or start floating around the room when they were around. Even Ally and Ginny seemed to have more magic than Neville and they were a year younger. Neville hadn't shown any signs of magic until he was eight and since then, he had barely managed any magic at all.

Neville remembered when he was eight, and everyone had begun to worry that he was a squib. He still hadn't demonstrated in any way that he was magical and nobody really knew what to do with him. Finally, his late grandfather's sister's husband, his great-uncle Algie, had finally decided to take matters into his own hands. He would creep up on Neville to try and scare the magic out of him, he would tie Neville up and tell him to get out of the rope to try and coax the magic out of him, once he even tried to tickle the magic out of him, but none of it worked.

One day, Uncle Algie and his wife, Aunt Enid, who was his grandfather's sister, came over for tea with Neville and his grandmother while his father was working and Uncle Algie snuck up on Neville in the kitchen and tried to scare him, but it didn't work. Uncle Algie decided that he needed to do more to scare Neville than simply sneak up on him, so he took him upstairs to the guest bedroom and opened the window. He had tricked Neville by pointing out the window, saying there was a really big bird flying by, but when Neville stuck his head out the window to look, Algie pushed Neville through the window and held on to him only by his ankles.

Neville had been terrified beyond belief. The Drooble's Best Blowing Gum that was in his pocket fell out and Neville watched it land in the grass.

"What are you going to do now Neville?" Uncle Algie had shouted from the guest room. "How're you going to get out of this one?" It was clear to Neville that Uncle Algie meant for him to use magic to get back inside.

With all his might, Neville had concentrated and concentrated and yet still nothing happened. Uncle Algie had given him a little shake, but all that did was cause the three licorice wands in his other pocket to fall to the ground and join the gum.

Finally, when Uncle Algie realized that it wasn't working, he began to pull Neville back inside, but he was distracted by something, Neville was never sure what, and all of a sudden, Neville was falling to the ground with no time to think or do anything really. He was sure he was going to die; or at least end up in St. Mungo's, but when he should have hit the ground, he found that instead the ground turned into a sort of trampoline and bounced him back up and down all the way down the road until he finally stopped. He didn't even have a scratch.

Neville remembered feeling relieved that he was magical after all and that he wouldn't end up a squib, but later, when he tried to do more magic, he never could. There was only one other time he thought he might have used magic, it was when he was at Harry's house and Ally had put her hand on the stove. Instead of burning her hand, Ally said it was cool to the touch, but Neville couldn't be sure if he had made it cold or if Ally had done it.

Now, Neville worried that maybe that one time he actually had done magic had been an accident, or maybe someone else did it for him without telling him. Even if he did manage that one feat of magic, maybe it wasn't enough to classify him as a wizard. Maybe he wasn't magical enough to go to school and he would be stuck between the wizard and Muggle worlds – not magical enough for one, not non-magical enough for the other.

"Neville, come help me with lunch," he heard his grandmother call from the kitchen. Neville sighed and placed Harry's letter, still clutched in his hand, on his nightstand and exited the room. As walked down the upstairs hallway, he caught sight of one of the pictures on the wall.

It was a picture of his mother and father before the fireplace accident that had killed his mother. They were standing together, his father's arm around his mother's shoulders, and in his mother's arms, there was a baby wrapped in a blanket. It was Neville. His mother, Alice was staring down at baby Neville in her arms with an expression filled with love. She looked up at her husband and smiled, then looked back down at baby Neville.

Neville didn't remember anything really about his mother, as he was so young when she died, but from what he could see from the pictures he had of her, she had really loved him back then. Neville wondered if she would still love him if he didn't go to Hogwarts. Would she be proud of him no matter what? Or would she be angry that her only son had turned out horribly wrong?

"Neville, where are you? These vegetables aren't going to chop themselves," Neville heard his grandmother screech from the kitchen. He tore his gaze away from the picture and continued downstairs. When he arrived in the kitchen, he took a knife and began on the vegetables.

He wondered if this was his life now. Would he always have to chop vegetables with a knife like he was now, or would he one day be able to flick his wand and make the knife chop by itself. He looked over at Augusta and watched as she directed the butter to spread itself on the bread and then moved onto the meat and levitated it onto the bread.

Neville abruptly shook these thoughts out of his head. He wouldn't think this way, he would get his letter and he would go to Hogwarts with Harry and Ron. He began to chop faster and fell into a rhythm. Chop-chop-chop. Chop-chop-chop. Chop-chop-chop. Neville finished chopping and put down the knife. He shut his eyes for a second and he fell into the rhythm again. Chop-chop-chop. Chop-chop-chop. Chop-chop-chop.

"Neville, would you get that?" his grandmother asked while she pulled a pan out of the oven. Neville opened his eyes again. He hadn't been chopping, so what had made that noise? He looked over at the window and saw an owl pecking at the glass. Tock-tock-tock, it went. Tock-tock-tock. Neville walked over to the window and opened it, allowing the bird inside. He untied the letter from its leg and the owl flew away immediately. Neville sighed. It was probably just another letter from someone who had gotten their letter before him. Maybe Ally or Ginny had gotten theirs a year early.

Neville opened the letter and looked down at it with dread filling up inside him.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore _

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Longbottom,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

* * *

**Alright, so that was chapter 16. Hope you guys liked it. Also, just a note, although I'm sure you guys all figured it out, Ally is Harry's sister, Alice Lily. I thought it would be cute to call her Ally, and so that in future she would be distinguishable from Alice Longbottom. Anyway, please please please leave a review! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Alright, so here we go on chapter 17, happy face for Neville, he's going to Hogwarts soon J. For the first time in a while, I don't think I have much to say here other than please read and enjoy, and let me know what your thoughts are afterwards.**

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Chapter 17: Diagon Alley

"So what house do you think you're going to be in?" Ron asked Harry as the three friends, Harry, Ron and Neville, stood on the elevated platforms in _Madam Malkin's_ to be fitted for their school robes.

"Gryffindor, of course, just like Mum and Dad," Harry said, clearly surprised that Ron would ask this. Ever since they were young, the three friends had always agreed that they would all be in Gryffindor together. "Why would you ask?"

"I don't know, now that we're almost there, I just wonder if we're all actually going to make it," Ron said.

"I'll probably be in Hufflepuff," Neville said sadly. His excitement over receiving his letter had now faded, and he was sure he would be the worst student at school.

"Oh cheer up, Neville," Harry said. "Hogwarts is going to be so much fun, you'll see. You need to stop worrying."

Before Neville had a chance to respond, the front door to the store opened and two young girls came barrelling to the back where the boys stood. In Ally's hand, there was a package of _Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans;_ in Ginny's, an empty chocolate frog wrapper.

"Are you finished yet?" Ally whined at her older brother as the finishing touches were done on his robes.

"Yes, he is," Madam Malkin said triumphantly, straightening up and flicking her wand at the boys' robes, which began to fold and place themselves in bags.

Harry, Neville and Ron stepped down from the platforms and gathered the parcels of supplies they had already purchased.

"Finally!" Ally exclaimed, as though it had been her that had had to stand on the platform for half an hour. "Can we get ice cream _now_ Mum?" she pleaded, turning to Lily, who had just entered the store with Molly and Augusta.

Lily sighed. "Yes Ally, now we can have ice cream. Let me just pay for your brother's robes."

The three women followed Madam Malkin to the front of the store to pay.

Once they were all out of the robe shop, they made their way down the Alley to _Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour_, where all five children ordered extravagant ice creams. While they walked, by habit, Neville kept his head down and his eyes on the ground. He was used to it by now, the stares he got every time he went out in the wizarding world. Everyone thought that he had somehow killed You-Know-Who when his mother was killed by the explosion, but Neville knew better; the explosion had killed him too. Nevertheless, people always stared, and it always made Neville feel uncomfortable.

"What do you think the Great Hall will look like?" Ron asked once they were all seated around a table at the ice cream shop.

"I don't know, probably the way everyone says it will; floating candles and no ceiling," Harry replied.

"The Great Hall does so have a ceiling," Ally interrupted. "There's just a spell on it so it doesn't look like it." While Harry had inherited most of his traits from his father, Ally was just like their mother. From her flaming red hair to her obsession with details and precision, the only thing missing was Lily's green eyes, which ironically, seemed to be the only physical trait Harry had inherited from her. Lily, instead, had hazel eyes, like those of her father.

"I think it'll be amazing," Ginny said mournfully. "I wish I could go this year."

"Don't worry dear, you'll be going next year, with Ally," Molly said.

"I wish I had another year before I had to go," Neville said nervously.

"No you don't," Ally replied. "You'll be fine once you get there, you're just afraid of the unknown."

"I guess so," Neville agreed, though uncertainly. He wished Ally and Ginny were coming this year – then he would know two more people out of the hundreds he was going to meet. Harry and Ron didn't share this view though, both were glad to be rid of their sisters for the year, but Neville couldn't understand this. He would give anything to have a sister.

"Shall we get your wands now, then?" Augusta asked briskly when she saw that the children had mostly finished their ice creams.

When they arrived at _Ollivander's_ wand shop, a boy was coming out of the shop. He had blond hair that was slicked back. He was very pale and his eyes were cold and grey.

"Hogwarts too?" he said upon seeing their group.

Before anyone could answer, an older man, also pale, with long blond hair came out of the shop. He was clearly the boy's father. He took a moment to absorb the situation and then addressed his son.

"Come, Draco," he said, nudging his son away. As they retreated, Neville heard the next sentence. "We do not need to associate with those kinds of people."

Neville looked questioningly up at his grandmother. He wondered what kind of person this man thought he was. Augusta only shook her head and led them all inside the shop.

"Ah," came a voice from behind the counter when they entered. "And how many are we today?"

Mr. Ollivander came out from behind the counter and began to examine the group.

"Three," Harry said, indicating Neville, Ron and himself. "I'm Harry, this is Neville and Ron." Tape measures shot out from somewhere and began taking the boys' measurements and then the shopkeeper retreated to the back to select wands.

He returned with three boxes. He opened the first one and handed the wand inside to Harry. "Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible," he said. Harry waved it around a bit as he knew he was supposed to, but when nothing happened, Mr. Ollivander snatched it back.

He pulled out the second wand and handed it to Ron. "This wand is willow and unicorn hair. Fourteen inches. Supple." Ron took hold of the wand and red and gold sparks began to shoot out of the end. "Wonderful!" exclaimed Mr. Ollivander. "Just wonderful. And for you Mr. Longbottom," he said, as he pulled out the third wand. "Try this. Cherry wood and unicorn hair. Thirteen inches. Springy." Neville wasn't very surprised when the wandmaker knew his last name; everybody in the wizarding world knew who he was. So he just took the wand, but just as with Harry, nothing happened. "No matter, no matter," the shopkeeper said. He took the two failed wands back to the shelves.

He returned and handed each of them a new wand to try. Once again, Neville's try was unsuccessful, but this time, Harry's wand reacted just as Ron's had. Sparks were shooting out the end.

"Excellent, most excellent. That is maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy," Mr. Ollivander said.

He turned to Neville. "It seems you're the only one left. Let's see if we can't find you the right match." He took back the wand Neville was holding and returned to the back. He emerged with five more possibilities, but all of them failed. When it almost seemed that no wand would answer to Neville, Mr. Ollivander emerged with another wand, but he held this one almost as though it was dangerous.

"I wonder… holly and phoenix feather. Eleven inches. Nice and supple." The wandmaker gingerly lifted the wand out of the box and handed it over to Neville. Neville lifted the wand and suddenly felt a warmth spread through him, beginning at his fingertips and travelling all the way from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Sparks were flying out the end like mad and Mr. Ollivander was now looking on with a concerned expression.

"Very curious indeed," the man mumbled, almost to himself.

"What's that?" Augusta said. "Speak up."

"I was merely expressing my curiosity. The wand that has chosen Mr. Longbottom is unique," Mr. Ollivander said, now staring at Neville fixatedly. "However, the phoenix whose tail feather resides in Mr. Longbottom's wand gave another feather. It is curious that Mr. Longbottom is destined for this wand when its brother belonged to the wizard that only he was able to destroy."

Neville felt chills run down his spine, all the warmth from before was now gone. Even though he didn't really kill You-Know-Who, everyone somehow thought he did, and now this wand had picked him. Neville decided that it was probably just a coincidence. He didn't have any connections to that wizard other than being in the same room when the fireplace exploded.

"Ah, well thank you Sir," Augusta said sharply. "Boys, why don't you take the girls outside while we pay?"

Neville nodded and began to head towards the door, but before he left, Mr. Ollivander said one last thing. "Mr. Longbottom. I do believe that we can expect great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, yes, but great."

0o0o0o0o0o0

"My Lord, at last, I have found you," Snape said, falling to his knees at the foot of a large tree. "After all my years of searching, here you are."

"Severus," Voldemort whispered from his hollow. "Severus."

"My Lord, we must return you to full power. The Philosopher's Stone, it is being transferred to Hogwarts this year. If you come back with me, I can steal it, and you can drink from it and become immortal," Snape said.

"I am immortal, Severus," Voldemort whispered. "But the Stone will restore my power."

"If you drink the blood of a unicorn, you can latch onto my soul. This way, I can get you into Hogwarts without detection," Snape said.

"No, Severus. Not you, another," Voldemort whispered. "Must be another."

"But why, My Lord, have I not been faithful?" Snape asked.

"If I should be discovered, you must remain at Hogwarts without suspicion," Voldemort replied.

"I will find someone," Snape said.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When Snape entered the Inn at the nearby village, he was surprised to see his old colleague, Quirinius Quirrell. He had taught alongside Snape at Hogwarts as Muggles Studies Professor before he decided to take some time off to travel around.

"Quirinius!" Snape said as he sat down and ordered a firewhisky.

"Severus!" Quirrell greeted his old colleague.

"How ironic that I should run into you here," Snape said.

"Ironic?" Quirrell asked.

"I was just looking for someone to… help me, with a little project I've been intending on undertaking. Someone who could get a post as a teacher at Hogwarts and… help a friend to get into the school," Snape said.

"I don't teach anymore, Severus. My post was given away to some witch named Burbage, I think," Quirrell said.

"Yes, but as usual, the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts is available," Snape said.

"I suppose I'd have to think about it," Quirrell replied.

"Why don't you come for a walk with me in the forest? You can sort through your thoughts," Snape suggested, leading Quirrell out the door and into the forest of Albania.

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**Alright, so there's chapter 17. So I did this little section with Snape at the end to kind of 'set the scene' of what's happening, but for the most part from here on in (at least for the first year), I'm going to stick with Neville's perspective and leave the rest up for discovery as Neville discovers. Also, as for Ally and Ginny, don't worry that we're not seeing much of them right now, because they're going to Hogwarts next year, so for now, they're a little more background-y and later we'll get to know them a lot better. Please please please review, they make me feel like I'm not alone J**


	18. Chapter 18

**OH MY GOODNESS YOU GUYS, I'M SOOO EXCITED! FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM IS BEING MADE INTO A FILM SERIES! Of course, being the potterheads that you all are, I'm sure you've already heard about this, but if there's anyone who hasn't, google it right now! My story can wait, this is way more important. You can read the news on JK Rowling's official website, and probably thousands of other places. **

**Good, now that you all know about that, we can get on with the chapter, because I'm sure you're all very anxious to read more about Neville. In honor of the new film series, I have incorporated Newt Scamander into this chapter, but since he wasn't originally intended to be in this chapter, it might seem a little random. **

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Chapter 18: Trevor

Neville was so excited. He was actually going to Hogwarts. He had to wait two more days and then he would finally get to board the train he had heard so much about and see the castle he had been dreaming about since he first heard about it.

His grandmother had insisted that he begin to pack his trunk today, as Neville tended to be forgetful, so that he could have some extra time to make sure he had everything. He had already folded up his robes and placed them in his new cauldron and he was now stacking his textbooks.

He grabbed a chocolate frog package from his dresser and opened it, suddenly craving chocolate. He stuffed the frog into his mouth before it could jump away and he saw the chocolate frog card inside fall into his trunk as he did so.

Sighing in exasperation, Neville reached into his trunk to retrieve the card. When he pulled it out, he checked to see who was on it.

_"Regarded as the world authority on magical creatures, Newt Scamander is the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which has been an approved textbook at Hogwarts since its publication in 1927 and can be found in most wizarding households."_

"Neville!" his grandmother called up to him suddenly. "Come downstairs, your aunt and uncle are here to see you!"

Neville quickly placed the card in his nightstand drawer with his other ones and went downstairs.

"Neville, my boy!" cried Great Uncle Algie when Neville appeared. "I hear you got your letter, good man!" Uncle Algie clapped Neville on the shoulder, causing Neville to lose his balance and almost fall to the floor.

"We're so proud of you, Neville," added Neville's Great Aunt Enid.

"Shall we have tea?" Neville's grandmother asked.

"That would be lovely, wouldn't it Algernon?" Enid said.

"Yeah, tea sounds great," replied Algie. When Enid and Augusta began to walk towards the kitchen, Algie held Neville back. "Hey Neville," Algie said in a staged whisper.

"What?" Neville asked, nervous. Uncle Algie often had very unpleasant surprises for Neville.

"I got you a present," Algie said. He reached into his cloak and produced a squat, brown, warty toad. "I know you're allowed to bring a pet to Hogwarts, so I thought I'd buy you a toad," Algie said happily, transferring the toad into Neville's hands.

"Thanks Uncle Algie," Neville said, forcing a smile. Out of the three types of pets allowed at Hogwarts, the toad was definitely the lamest pet to own. Harry, Ron and him had even laughed at the toads they had seen at the Magical Menagerie when they were in Diagon Alley, knowing that nobody in their right mind would purchase a toad when they could get an owl or a cat. Ron was even bringing his pet rat, Scabbers, even though it wasn't on the list.

"I wouldn't want my great nephew showing up at school without a pet, you'd be laughed at," Algie said.

Neville was pretty sure having a toad would only increase the ridicule, but he didn't dare tell his Uncle.

"Thanks Uncle Algie, he's great," Neville said instead.

"So what are you going to name him?" Algie asked excitedly.

"Oh, um…" Neville scrambled for a name and chose the first name that popped into his head. "Trevor," Neville replied.

"Trevor it is," Algie said. "What say you we show him to your Aunt and Grandmother then?" Algie asked.

Algie led Neville forward into the kitchen, where Augusta was pouring tea into teacups for herself and Enid.

"Tea, Algie?" Augusta asked.

"No, no, I think I'll just take a biscuit," Algie said, grabbing one from the plate on the table. "Neville, would you like to show your Grandmother what you have there?" Algie asked.

"Uncle Algie has given me a present," Neville said, holding the toad out to his grandmother. Neville knew that Augusta did not like having animals in her house, that was why Neville had never had a pet before, so he was counting on her telling him he had to send it back.

"Oh, why it's a toad!" Augusta exclaimed.

"His name is Trevor," Neville replied, bringing him closer to his grandmother.

"Really Algernon, did you have to buy him a toad?" Augusta asked exasperatedly. "Couldn't you have gotten him a nice book, or even a bag of candy?"

"Every young student needs an animal to bring to Hogwarts," Algie said matter of factly.

"If you don't want a toad in the house, I understand grandmother," Neville said.

Augusta hesitated. "Well," she began.

"Oh come now Augusta," said Enid. "Let the boy keep the toad."

"Yes, I suppose Enid is right, you should be allowed to have a pet at school. Besides, he'll be with you at Hogwarts, not here in the house," Augusta said.

Neville sighed to himself. Somehow, he was going to have to explain to Harry and Ron how he ended up with a toad as his pet, and he would have to find some way to hide Trevor so that the other students wouldn't laugh at him.

"Neville, why don't you go upstairs and continue packing your trunk," Augusta said. "I think I need to have a word with your Uncle."

Neville nodded and left the room. When he shut the door behind him, he could hear his grandmother already reprimanding Uncle Algie for buying Neville a toad without asking her first. Neville decided he didn't want to listen to the rest of the conversation, so he went back upstairs. As he headed for his bedroom, he passed his father's door.

Neville noticed that the room seemed a little less orderly than usual and since his father was at work, Neville decided to go inside. Scattered all over Frank's dresser were photographs. When Neville took a closer look, he saw that they were all photographs of his mother.

Neville's father always brought out the pictures in August, as that was when Alice died. Neville had seen the pictures many times, but this time, there were new photographs. Normally, he would find photos of Alice in her later Hogwarts years, when she was dating Frank, and he would find photos of his parents' wedding and their life after marriage. They were always pictures of adult Alice.

This year, the Alice in the pictures was younger. She appeared to older than twelve or thirteen. Neville was sure that some of the pictures were from her first year at Hogwarts, when she would have been the same age as Neville was now.

Neville shuffled through the photos until one in particular caught his attention. Alice was walking down a corridor in Hogwarts, clearly unaware that her picture was being taken. Her hair was longer than it was when she grew older. She appeared to be talking to another girl who was walking with her and both them were carrying an armful of books.

What caught Neville's attention though, wasn't how young his mother looked. It wasn't the friend next to her, or even what she was carrying. It was what was riding on her shoulder. Because there it was; sitting on Alice's shoulder, warty and brown and croaking. And Neville knew right then that he would keep Trevor and he would love Trevor and he would never again wish he didn't own a toad for fear of being laughed at. Because his mother had owned a toad too.

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**Alright, so this was a relatively short chapter. I didn't want to go on, because the next bit is King's Cross and the Hogwarts Express and I really wanted to put all of that into one chapter together. I didn't want to add too much more random stuff to this chapter, because then it would just become pointless filler. Please, please, please review, I love getting feedback on my writing.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Happy Birthday to Hermione! In honor of Hermione's birthday, I've decided that this chapter will contain her first appearance :). **

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Chapter 19: Just the Beginning

"Now Neville, remember," Augusta was saying to Neville as she straightened his jacket for him. "Make sure you do all your homework, don't join any clubs until you're comfortable with the environment. Make sure you aren't late for class, don't skip any meals, don't get into any fights, and most importantly, I want you to make sure you do well on your exams."

"Alright, grandmother, I promise," Neville said. His grandmother had been giving him instructions all morning and Neville was quite fed up with it all.

"Do you have all your things? You have your trunk? Where's Trevor?" Augusta asked.

"He's in my pocket, grandmother, don't worry," Neville reassured her.

"Alright, I'll see you for Christmas," Augusta said, giving Neville a quick hug and then helping him to heave his trunk onto the Hogwarts Express. It was September the 1st and Neville was leaving for Hogwarts.

"You ready?" Harry asked from behind Neville. His father, James, threw his trunk onto the train after Neville's and Harry hopped up onto the train. "Bye Mum, bye Dad, bye Ally!" he called, waving. Then he grabbed his trunk and began to drag it down the hallway.

"Bye grandmother, goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Goodbye Ally," Neville said, waving to everyone as he climbed onto the train as well and followed after Harry.

Harry had found an empty compartment and had already settled into it. His trunk was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room and he was looking out the window.

"There you are, took you long enough," Harry said when Neville entered. "Help me get my trunk up on the racks," Harry said, pointing the racks up above his head. Neville let go of his trunk and began to help Harry heave his up. It was quite heavy, and once they had almost gotten it, they lost their grip and the trunk tumbled back onto the seat.

"I think someone needs some help, Fred," came a voice from the entrance to their compartment. It was George, Ron's older brother, who was going into his third year.

"Yes, but should we offer our assistance?" His twin brother Fred asked. "Watching this display is quite amusing."

"Oh come on, help us please," Harry said. The twins rolled their eyes and threw the two trunks up onto the overhead racks with ease.

"Where's Ron?" Neville asked, looking back out at the platform to see if maybe he was still with his parents.

"Oh Ronniekins!" Fred called down the train hallway.

"Your friends want to see you!" George added.

"Would you be quiet?" Ron hissed, coming up behind his brothers.

"Well clearly we're not appreciated here, so I think we'll just be going now," George said.

"Yes, we should go and find Lee," Fred added.

"See you at school," George said.

"Try and enjoy the train ride, don't worry about the sorting test later," Fred said.

"Sorting test?" Harry asked. "Dad said we just had a hat sit on our head."

"Oh, they changed the rules last year, now you have to wrestle a troll," George said.

"What?" Neville cried.

"But like I said, try to enjoy the train ride," Fred repeated. Laughing, the twins retreated down the corridor, leaving the three boys panicking in their compartment.

"They're probably just joking," Ron said nervously.

"Yeah, they wouldn't make us wrestle a troll," Harry reassured himself. "The more pressing problem is your trunk Ron." Fred and George had never put Ron's trunk on the overhead rack and it was now sitting in the middle of the hallway.

After a few failed attempts at heaving the trunk up, the boys decided to leave it on the empty seat across from Ron.

As the train began to pull out of the station, the boys crowded around the window and waved goodbye to their families. Neville's father hadn't been able to come to King's Cross because he was working on a case, so Neville had said goodbye to him that morning at home.

When the train entered the tunnel, the boys relaxed into their seats and began chatting about Quidditch. Ron's favorite team, the Chudley Cannons, were doing well this season and he was quite enthusiastic about it.

"Oh no!" Neville cried out suddenly.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Trevor, he's gone!" Neville said sadly. "Uncle Algie just gave him to me two days ago and I've already lost him!"

"What's the big deal? It's a toad. It's probably best that you lost it," Ron said mockingly. Harry and Ron had not been impressed when Neville had announced that he would be bringing a toad to Hogwarts.

"He's just really important to me, we have to find him!" Neville said.

"Why don't you just wait a while, he might turn up," Harry said. Neville looked at Harry imploringly. "Oh fine, let's go ask around and find out if anyone's seen him then," Harry finally conceded.

They got up and Ron sighed, but joined them anyway. They first went to the compartment directly across from them, but it was full of older students who thought they were a joke.

In the next compartment, they recognized the boy from Ollivander's. When he saw them, he made a big show of rolling his eyes at them and he stated that he would never help a bunch of wimpy Gryffindor wannabees.

In the third compartment, a girl with bushy brown hair was alone, curled up in her seat, reading what appeared to be The Standard Book of Spells, one of the first year textbooks they had been set. A stack of more textbooks sat next to her as though she was preparing to read them all on the train ride.

"Um, excuse me," Harry said, knocking on the glass. He slid it open and the girl looked up from her book.

"Our friend Neville here has lost his toad and we were wondering if you'd seen one by any chance?" Harry asked.

"No, I haven't but I'd love to help you look. I'm Hermione Granger by the way, I'm just starting my first year this year and I'm just so excited," the girl said, standing up to shake each of their hands.

"Oh, um, nice to meet you. I'm Harry and this is Neville and Ron," Harry said, pointing to the boys in turn. "Thanks for the offer, but I think we're good."

The three boys turned to leave, but Hermione suddenly cried, "Holy cricket! You're Neville Longbottom, aren't you? I've read all about you, of course," she said.

"Oh, um, yeah, that's me," Neville said, shuffling his feet and looking down at the floor.

"So great to meet you," Hermione said excitedly.

"Yeah, well, we'll let you get back to your reading now," Ron said turning and walking away. Hermione slumped her shoulders and returned to her textbooks. Harry and Neville followed Ron, who returned to their compartment.

"I think we should give up with this search. Trevor will turn up," Ron said. "Besides, I'm hungry, let's wait for the candy trolley."

The candy trolley arrived minutes later, and the boys all bought some candy to eat. They spent the rest of the train ride trading chocolate frog cards and discussing their prospects of making the Quidditch team in their first year.

When the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station, they followed the rest of the first years off the train and to the boats that would take them to Hogwarts. They had to walk through the wilderness for a while, but then suddenly, they turned a corner and Neville got his first look at Hogwarts.

It was spectacular. The castle was huge with towers and turrets climbing up high into the sky. There were windows all over the castle, and all of them had light coming from them, illuminating the castle and even the grounds. Neville could see the Quidditch pitch far in the distance and the Forbidden Forest off to the side.

It was four people per boat, so Harry, Ron and Neville climbed into one. The girl from the train, Hermione, climbed in after them and without warning, they were gliding across the lake towards the castle.

As they got closer and closer, Neville realized just how big the castle was, and he even felt a bit intimidated by its sheer size. How would he ever learn his way around a castle that big?

The boats entered what seemed to be a cave and came to a dock, where the first years all got out onto the rocks and pebbles.

"Does this toad belong to any of yeh'?" asked Hagrid, the gamekeeper who was leading them all. Neville looked where he was pointing and saw Trevor croaking happily on the pebbles.

"TREVOR!" he cried happily, scooping him up. A few of the other students laughed at him, but Neville didn't care, he had found Trevor and that was what was important.

Hagrid led them up to the front doors and they were led into the school. A teacher who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall led them into a small room next to the Great Hall to wait while they prepared for the Sorting.

Neville began to worry about the test he would have to undergo. If Fred and George were telling the truth, there was no chance he would do well at all.

All too soon, Professor McGonagall was back and leading them into the Great Hall. Neville was immediately reassured when he saw an old-looking hat sitting on a stool in the center of the raised platform at the front of the room where the teachers were sitting. It was just as Harry's father had said; they just had to let the hat choose their house.

The Neville became nervous again. He wanted badly to be sorted into Gryffindor like his parents and his grandmother, but he was worried. He wasn't brave or courageous or chivalrous as Gryffindors were meant to be.

The Hat opened its brim and began to sing about the different houses, but of course, Neville already knew about them. He spent the duration of the song worrying and figuring he would probably end up in Hufflepuff while Harry and Ron went into Gryffindor as they were sure to.

Suddenly the song was over and Professor McGonagall was reading names off a list. Hannah Abbott was already sitting on the stool and the hat was sorting her into Hufflepuff. They continued down the list with Susan Bones, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, and the list continued. The girl from the train, Hermione Granger, ended up in Gryffindor after a relatively long deliberation on the hat's part.

All too soon, Neville heard Professor McGonagall call Sue Li and he knew he could be next. The hat sent Sue to Ravenclaw and then he heard the fateful words.

"Longbottom, Neville," said Professor McGonagall.

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**Alright, so how's that? I wonder what house Neville will get Sorted into. Does he still get to go to Gryffindor? Does he go to Hufflepuff? Maybe he'll go to Slytherin like Harry almost did in the real story. Shall we put him in Ravenclaw even? And I wonder if Harry still goes into Gryffindor since he was raised by his parents. And what about Ron? Should he go in Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff maybe? What do you guys think? Let me know in a review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Happy Birthday Professor McGonagall! I think I've developed some sort of pattern… I always feel compelled to update on character's birthdays. Ah well… I guess that gives you guys some sort of idea as to when I'll be posting… Don't worry though, I'll try to update more often than that… We'll have to see though. I'm in midterms right now, so it's a bit of a stressful time… Anyway, you don't want to hear about my problems, you want to read about Neville, so here you go!**

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Chapter 20: Gryffindor

Neville shakily began to advance towards the Professor and the Hat, taking deep breaths to try to calm himself down.

In his nervousness, he tripped over the hem of his robe and fell to the ground. He heard giggling from the crowd of first years and his face began to heat up in embarrassment, but then he heard Harry and Ron telling off the gigglers and he felt his resolve return and he determinedly got up and seated himself on the stool.

The last thing he saw before Professor McGonagall lowering the Hat onto his head was Harry and Ron giving his the thumbs up sign and he smiled. He could get into Gryffindor if he wanted to, he was Neville Longbottom.

"Aha!" the Hat hissed into Neville's ear as soon as it was resting on his head. "It seems we've got a confident one here. Gryffindor, you say? Are you positive?" the Hat asked. Neville wavered. Perhaps he wasn't fit for Gryffindor. Did Gryffindors trip over their own robes? "Not so sure, eh? Well let's explore other options. Ravenclaw wouldn't quite do… Slytherin? I see some ambition in there, but maybe not quite enough. Perhaps Hufflepuff would be a good home. Yes, I see you've got plenty of loyalty in you, you would be a fine addition to Hufflepuff." Neville's stomach clenched. He just knew he would be sent to Hufflepuff. Was there really ever any chance that he could be a Gryffindor? "Losing confidence, are you?" the Hat asked. Neville shook his head. No, he wasn't losing confidence. He would be in Gryffindor, he was brave and noble, or at least, he would try his best to be. "Ah, there it is!" the Hat said excitedly as Neville's resolve to be in Gryffindor hardened. "Yes, I do believe you will do great things in GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat screamed out the last word to the entire Hall.

Neville pushed the Hat away from his face and looked out at the sea of people. The Gryffindor table was clapping wildly, of course, as they now had the famous Neville Longbottom in their house, but Neville sought out the eyes of Harry and Ron, who were both beaming and giving him the thumbs up again.

Neville ran down into the crowd excitedly and heard laughing again. He looked at Ron and Ron pointed at his head. Neville realised that he was still wearing the Hat. His cheeks began to heat up again and he had to turn around and return the Hat to Professor McGonagall before he could sit down at the Gryffindor table.

The rest of the Sorting turned out to be quite fun to watch. Now that Neville no longer had to worry about his fate, he found he could properly enjoy it. He wasn't worried about Harry or Ron at all; they were bound to end up in Gryffindor with him. When Harry put on the Hat, his assumption was proved correct as the Hat only needed about a nanosecond to deliberate before it shouted "Gryffindor" to the Hall. Harry happily joined Neville, clapping him on the back, and then they turned back to watch the last students get sorted. Ron was next to last as his last name began with 'W', and predictably ended up in Gryffindor too, though the Hat took a little longer with him than with Harry.

Ron sat across from Harry and Neville and after Blaise Zabini had been sent to Slytherin, the feast began. It was delicious and Neville simply revelled in the fact that he was here, at Hogwarts, enjoying some of the best food he had ever eaten with his two best friends.

When the feast was over, Ron's older brother, Percy, led the first years to the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron couldn't stand Percy, but Neville didn't mind him that much. Sure, he was a little annoying and often acted like he was more important than he really was, but it had never particularly bothered Neville. And Percy was always a great person to talk to when Neville needed advice that his grandmother couldn't provide.

When they arrived at the portrait of the fat lady, Percy stated the password, 'Caput Draconis', and Neville sighed out loud. He would never remember the passwords if they were this complicated. Why couldn't it be 'Open Sesame' or something easy like that?

"Don't worry, I'll remember it," Harry whispered to Neville, making Neville smile. He was very glad to have such good friends.

After they were shown around the common room, they were directed to their dormitories. Harry, Ron and Neville had two other roommates, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Their belongings had already been brought up and placed at the ends of their beds, and Neville was happy to see that his bed was the one closest to the door leading to the bathroom. Neville frequently had strange inexplicable nightmares involving endless forests and he always needed to splash cold water on his face when he woke up from these.

Neville sat down on his bed and began sorting through his trunk, trying to locate his pyjamas. Dean was pinning up strange posters of people who weren't moving. Seamus asked Dean about them, and Dean revealed that he was a Muggle-born and that they were the members of a Muggle sports team for something called football. Seamus began questioning Dean animatedly about the Muggle sport and they went into the bathroom to brush their teeth together, leaving Harry, Ron and Neville alone in the dormitory.

"So," Ron said as he pinned up posters of his favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons. "Feast was bloody awesome!"

Neville laughed and Harry rolled his eyes. Ron was always fixated on food.

"I hope all the meals are that great," Ron added. "Think they'll have bacon at breakfast? I really want bacon."

"I honestly don't know," Harry said, clearly humoring Ron.

"Oh no!" Neville cried suddenly. "I think I forgot to pack my pyjamas."

"How did you forget pyjamas?" Harry asked.

"Well I was wearing them last night, and when I changed I must have put them back in my closet instead of in my trunk like I meant to," Neville admitted sheepishly.

"Neville, you should really think about getting a Remembrall," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Here, I've got extras," he said, tossing Neville a pair of pyjamas.

"Thanks, I'll write gran tomorrow about sending them," Neville said.

"Woah! What's that?" Dean cried suddenly, returning from the bathroom. He was staring, awed, at the Quidditch posters Ron had just finished pinning up.

"You support the Chudley Cannons?" Seamus asked, looking at Ron with a scowl.

"Yeah, problem?" Ron challenged.

"No, I just prefer to support a team that actually wins games, the Irish, for example," Seamus replied.

"You little – "Ron began, starting to lunge at Seamus, but Dean stepped between them.

"Could someone please tell me what you're talking about?" Dean asked.

"It's Quidditch," Seamus replied.

"What's Quidditch?" Dean asked, confused. "And why are they waving at me? It's unnerving."

Seamus began to explain the complexities of Quidditch and magic pictures to Dean while Neville, Harry and Ron headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he was ready to sleep, Neville practically collapsed into his bed, too tired to sort anymore of his belongings as he had planned to. He said goodnight to his dorm mates and pulled the curtains around his bed closed.

Seamus and Dean were still talking about Quidditch, and Neville could hear them murmuring across the room. He allowed himself to be lulled to sleep by their conversation, and was asleep in under five minutes.

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**Alright, so there you guys are! A little bit of Professor McGonagall in the beginning to honor her birthday. Sorry the chapter's a bit short, but I didn't want to keep writing useless nonsense, so I ended it here. Thanks for reading, and please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please review! Hopefully the sole fact that I took the time to write that many pleases will inspire some of you to review this chapter J**


	21. Chapter 21

**Happy Birthday Professor Flitwick! Sorry that I haven't posted in like, two weeks, but I've been pretty busy with school and stuff. Like I said last time though, for some reason, I always feel like I need to post when someone has a birthday, so I decided I would ignore my chemistry homework for now and work on this. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 21: Overwhelmed

It was Saturday, and Neville was sitting in the Great Hall with his friends. Already, the first week of classes had come and gone. Neville couldn't believe how fast it had gone, but even more, he couldn't believe how much work he was expected to get done.

Transfiguration had been his first class on Monday morning, with Professor McGonagall. She was very strict and reminded Neville of his grandmother, but not in a good way. After that, he had had History of Magic, which Neville already could tell was not going to be very interesting at all. Professor Binns had droned on and on and yet Neville hadn't managed to absorb any information. He had been sure that this would be his least favorite class.

He had been proven wrong when he had his first potions class, with Professor Snape. Snape hated all of Gryffindor house, but for some reason, he hated Harry and Neville more than the rest of the class. Sometimes during class, Neville could feel him glaring at his scar, and Neville just wished it wasn't there.

Harry and Ron had been especially excited for Defence against the Dark Arts, but to their dismay, Professor Quirrell didn't seem to be a particularly experienced teacher, and the class promised to be relatively boring. Neville was secretly happy about this though; the less practical work he had to do the better, he thought. Though they hadn't yet been allowed to attempt any, he was worried that he would not be able to perform spells.

Neville's first Herbology class had been on Tuesday. As it turned out, Neville found that he was actually very interested in the subject, and didn't mind when Professor Sprout announced that they would be getting very dirty over the course of the year working with plants and dirt.

Charms, on the other hand, had Neville quite worried. They had begun practising wrist movements and enunciation and Professor Flitwick was sure that they would be ready to start learning their very first spell next week.

Astronomy also was posing a bit of a problem for Neville. Astronomy class took place at midnight, every Wednesday night, and Neville was finding it difficult to stay awake for the duration of the class. He was only eleven after all! He normally went to bed around ten o'clock. He also noticed that it seemed his whole class had difficulty staying awake in their first class the next day, which was History of Magic, but Neville wasn't sure if that was a result of the night before or a consequence of Professor Binns' droning voice.

Though they had received an enormous amount of homework to complete, especially since they had never actually had homework before, Neville hadn't completed any of it yet. On Monday, Harry and Ron had convinced him that he would have enough time to do it later, and they should enjoy their first official night. Tuesday had been the night when Neville, Harry, Ron and Seamus had taught Dean how to play exploding snap. On Wednesday, they had been preparing for their first Astronomy class, and Neville had taken a nap beforehand. On Thursday night, one of the girls in their year, Hermione Granger, had started nagging at the three of them about their homework, which had made them want to do it less. On Friday, they went to visit Hagrid and completely forgot about it.

Now, on Saturday, Harry, Ron and Neville were facing a day of homework to make up for their laziness throughout the week. They finished with breakfast and headed for the library, where they could hopefully have some peace and quiet to work.

"Where are you going?" Hermione Granger called out as they began to leave the Great Hall.

"To the library," Neville replied, as Harry and Ron were too busy rolling their eyes.

"Ooh, good, I'll come too," Hermione said.

"Oh, have you got homework to do too?" Ron asked.

"Oh no, I finished that last night," she replied. "I just figured I could find a book to check out for some light reading, since I've got my whole weekend free now," she said. Harry and Ron glowered at her, as though it were somehow her fault that they hadn't done their work and now had to waste their weekend working on it. Neville felt a little jealous, but he remembered that she had reminded them to do it on Thursday, they just hadn't listened.

When they got to the library, the three friends sat down at a table and got out their books. Neville started with Herbology, as it seemed like the most interesting thing. Harry was working on his transfiguration essay and Ron had out his Charms assignment.

The Charms assignment wasn't long, and once Ron finished it, he asked Neville if he could copy his answers for the Herbology homework.

Before Neville could answer, Hermione popped out from behind a bookshelf. "You can't copy someone else's work! You have to do it yourself or else you'll never learn," she said.

"I didn't ask you," Ron said. "What are you even still doing here? I thought you were just looking for a book."

"I was," Hermione replied. "I suppose I'll just go read it somewhere else then," she said, turning on her heel and stomping away.

"Was she hiding there all that time?" Ron asked, looking at Neville.

Neville shrugged. "I don't know, maybe," he said. "Here," Neville pushed his Herbology homework closer to Ron so that he could copy the answers.

"Thanks mate," Ron said. "Here, you can copy my Charms."

At lunch, the three decided it was time for a break. Neville had finished Herbology, Charms and half of his Potions essay, and he intended on copying Harry's Transfiguration essay later. Instead of sitting in the Great Hall, they grabbed some sandwiches from the nearest table and took them outside. They sat down near a large tree by the lake and lay down under the sun.

As usual, Ron was talking about his favorite Quidditch team which Harry and Neville pretended to listen. Harry actually did love Quidditch; he just didn't like the Chudley Cannons very much. Neville was not as interested in Quidditch as his friends. He enjoyed watching it, but he didn't think he would ever want to play it, and he wasn't very interested in all the intricate details of the sport.

Without warning, a voice interrupted Ron's monologue. "Enjoying the sunshine, are we?" Hermione asked as she approached and sat down with them.

"Uh, yeah, we are," Ron said, sitting up and giving Hermione a look that clearly said 'go away'.

"Don't you think you should be doing your homework?" Hermione asked.

"Don't you think you should be minding your own business?" Ron retorted.

"I just thought I'd try to help," Hermione replied.

"Would you let us copy your essays for History of Magic and Potions?" Ron asked.

"Of course not!" Hermione exclaimed, clearly appalled at the thought.

"Then you're not being helpful, so go away," Ron said.

"Fine!" Hermione said, jumping up and stomping off yet again. Neville was reminded of the incident earlier in the library.

"You could have been nicer," Neville said quietly when she was gone.

"She was asking for it," Ron replied. "Who invited her anyway, why does she keep showing up?"

"Maybe she's lonely," Neville suggested. "Maybe she's trying to make friends."

"Why can't she be friends with someone else? Like her dorm mates, maybe?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, it's not like I can do legilimency!" Neville replied.

"Guys," Harry said suddenly. "Why is Professor Quirrell going into the forest?" he asked, pointing towards the figure of a man heading towards the trees.

"I don't know, teachers go into the forest, I guess," Ron said as though it were no big deal.

Neville looked around for a moment and then noticed another figure heading into the forest a few yards away. "Alright, but why is Professor Snape following Professor Quirrell into the forest?" Neville asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure teachers have reasons to be in the forest," Ron said exasperatedly.

"Let's go see what they're up to," Harry suggested.

"Do we have to?" Ron whined.

"Yeah, do we have to?" Neville asked nervously.

"Yes, we have to. Come on guys, where's your sense of adventure?" Harry asked, pulling his friends up and steering them towards the forest.

As they approached the trees however, Professor Snape emerged from the forest. "Potter, Longbottom, Weasley, what were you doing? Students aren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest! Twenty points from Gryffindor," he said. "Now get back in the castle, I'm sure you have work you could be doing."

With a sigh of disappointment from Harry, a sigh of relief from Neville and a sigh of exasperation at Harry from Ron, the three turned around and headed back towards the castle.

"Yeah, great idea Harry, we lost twenty points," Ron said.

"I think Snape's hiding something," Harry said. "He panicked, so he took off points."

"Oh come on Harry, he took off points because we were going into the forest. Students aren't allowed in the forest," Ron said.

"But why did he go back into the forest after he took off the points?" Harry asked.

"He's a teacher; he has reasons to be in the forest!" Ron cried.

"Or maybe, he's gone back to tell Quirrell to stay back until we've gone because they're hiding something and don't want to be found out," Harry said.

"Alright, whatever, I'm going to do my Defence homework. It'll be a much better use of my time than arguing with you about the ulterior motives of our teachers," Ron said.

Neville remained silent throughout the whole exchange. He knew that Harry often got big ideas and liked to have adventures and solve mysteries. It had been his favorite activity as a child. Ron had a point that Harry was probably just being ridiculous. But there had been something strange about the encounter that Neville had noticed. Not once had Professor Snape glared at his scar, which meant that he had something else on his mind. Which meant that maybe, just maybe, he really was hiding something.

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**Alright, there you guys go, I hope you liked the chapter. Please leave a review! **


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